A giant electric train circuit that makes music is what the show "Track" offers. Imagined by the Bordeaux company La Boite à sel, it is performed until March 5 at the Théâtre Paris-Villette. Immediate boarding.
On this Saturday afternoon, wearing a train conductor's cap and holding a colorful flag, Céline Garnavault welcomes the audience of Track . Artistic director of the company La Boite à Sel , she is the director of the show: “Track is a railway symphony. The idea came from the desire to materialize sound loops, rhythms, to spatialize them, and to take the audience on a journey with sound that is built before our eyes.”
During the show, the clicking of the locomotive starting and its whistles on descents blend with the sounds created by Laurent Duprat. A beatbox actor, he introduces the character he plays: “This is Jean-Luc Héron. This character is special; he is a great enthusiast who locks himself at home with his trains, wanting to protect his circuit. But he still enjoys showing it off.”
Maintenance, mechanics on stage
For about forty minutes, train collector Jean-Luc Héron presents his circuit to the audience, with some mishaps. The beatbox sounds are broadcasted by small sound objects carried by the wagons, designed by Thomas Sillard, who is also behind the project. Track is a show in “which you can never be at ease,” declares Céline Garnavault: “We actually have mechanics on stage who are there to intervene in case of an accident because a train can derail. The audience loves it; they don’t realize that we have a real technical problem. We spend a lot of time on maintenance, and before performing, we have a safety check, a bit like the SNCF.”
In an atmosphere that alternately evokes day, night, travel, or even ghost trains, Track celebrates a play and collection object, which evokes certain memories for Laurent Duprat: “It reminds me of my father who had a train that we couldn’t access because it was stuck in a basement. I never got to play with that train; I caught a glimpse of it through a door, and today, at 46, I’m getting my revenge and I can play with it.”
It is with their eyes that the audience can play in front of Track, before arriving at the destination and having a discussion after the show to learn almost all the secrets of its creation.
