In a single act made of a succession of scenes, Aurélia plays an incurable kleptomaniac woman who suddenly finds herself under the influence of the objects she has “borrowed”. Improbable mechanisms, strange encounters, mad music boxes punctuate her journey in this unpredictable theatrical play.

 

 

The rhythm is peculiar and incessant and transports us into a succession of “everyday life” scenes where Aurélia collects objects that don’t belong to her, bringing the audience inside a world where everything is possible. Elegant and ethereal, Aurélia opens the door of her restless and poetic imagination.

 

With the performer and dancer Jaime Martinez, the multifaceted artist guides you through unknown territories where magic, surrealism and humour are the norm and where she suddenly finds herself at the mercy of the objects she tries to seize. Seats and tables slide and move independently, walls come alive, common objects transform into strange animal, a forest of coat hangers turn into a dragon. Strangeness meets wonder and illusion.

 

 

Bells and Spells is a poem about a wound and a rebellion. Its beauty is to convert them into light. Aurélia Thierrée is a thief of fire. All the rest is pure speculation. [……] leaves you agape, for this show opens wide the doors of psyche.
(LE TEMPS | Alexandre Demidof)

 

Bells and Spells is carried along by an air of surreal humour & unpredictability, fulfilling the poetic mischief implied by the title.
(THE TIMES | Donald Hutera)

 

How delightful it is to forget reality for an evening, to shrivel it like a handkerchief at the bottom of your pocket, conjuring it away behind the very fabric of dreams. [……] All becomes hybrid, metamorphosis and endless reinventions in this show, with no other justification than that of casting thousands of spells, evaporating before our eyes and creating the wonderful effect of a glass of champagne that, as suddenly, would then turn into sand, sliding through our fingers.
(LE MONDE | Fabienne Darge)

Let me introduce you to the most beautiful show of the month, of the year, of the decade, and possibly of the century! [……] Rare are the shows that convive poetry in such infectious and spell bound way. Spell cast? A true gem.
（L’EXPRESS | Igor HansenLove）

 

Borra was a circus pickpocket artist whose act consisted of stealing items such as ties, watches and wallets from audience members without them noticing, directly in sight of delighted spectators who were being robbed too. He would return the items to their owners at the end of his act.

 

Such tales about Borra have infused Bells and Spells, an enchanting performance about the adventures and mishaps of a kleptomaniac involving everything from a music box to ancient enigmatic paintings.

 

And don’t forget the quote from French author and statesman Alphonse de Lamartine: “Inanimate objects, do you have a soul that attaches to our soul and the strength to love?”

 

DIRECTOR: Victoria Thierrée Chaplin
In 1970, Victoria Chaplin met the actor and director Jean-Baptiste Thierrée. They created a new type of circus, Le Cirque Bonjour, invited at the Avignon Festival in 1971 and then toured all over France. Victoria and Jean-Baptiste soon evolved towards an increasingly personal and intimate approach to the staging, with a special attention to the phantasmagorical dimension. In Le Cirque Imaginaire they are both onstage, together with their kids Aurélia and James. The family toured with both shows all over the world, across the five continents. In 2003, Victoria conceived and directed a new show, L’Oratorio d’Aurélia starring Aurélia Thierrée, which toured until 2011, when Murmures des Murs, their second show, premiered. Bells and Spells premiered at Spoleto Festival dei 2Mondi in 2018.

 

STARRING: Aurélia Thierrée
Aurelia Thierrée grew up performing in her parents’ shows Le Cirque Imaginaire and Le Cirque Invisible. She toured with the Londoner trio Tiger Lillies in their show Tiger Lilies Circus. She’s worked in cabaret, theatre and variety shows from Berlin to New York. She worked with Deborah Warner, Milos Forman. From 2003 to 2011, she toured internationally in L’Oratorio d’Aurélia, then came Murmures des Murs from 2011 to 2018. Bells and Spells, created at the Spoleto Festival dei 2Mondi, is her third show with Victoria Thierrée Chaplin.

 

ACTOR: Jaime Martinez
Born in San Juan/Puerto Rico, Jaime Martinez grew up in Columbia/South Carolina, where he studied with Ann Brodie and Naomie Calvert. He trained at North Carolina School of the Arts and American Dance Machine in New York. He was a founding member of the Parsons Dance Company in 1985, where he has taught nearly 400 master classes, including residencies at Juilliard School. Winner of a New York Dance and Performance Bessie Award in 1998, he performs in prestigious venues (Ballet du Rhin, Ballets Jazz de Montréal, New York City Ballet and many others) and in all Victoria Thierrée Chaplin’s shows.