A virtual showcase of circus, theatre and dance for Québec@EdFringe for Assembly Festival will be launched in an hour-long broadcast on Thursday 5 August before the shows start running from Friday 6 August.
Circus company FLIP Fabrique's acrobatic physical comedy can be seen in two shows: Six°, which explores the sweet madness of waiting, the "intricate beauty in correspondence" and unexpected encounters, and Blizzard, a "crazy, poetic and gentle journey in the dead of winter".
Machine de Cirque invades the museum in La Galerie, in which seven acrobats and a musician take in a monochrome exhibit then set off an explosion of colour in an ode to creativity.
The 7 Fingers’ Out of Order plunges us into a not-so-distant future where the theatres are empty, meeting places and cultural venues are no longer permitted, physical contact is prohibited and artists are forced to meet secretly in forsaken spaces.
La Otra Orilla, founded by Canadian dancer Myriam Allard and Franco-Tunisian singer Hedi Graja, draws on flamenco roots for its latest work, Rite.
FÔVE diffusion will present two shows: GROUND Unplugged, which explores individual and collective urges, and Bones & Wires, a meeting of two worlds: one focuses on memory and family, the other on over-technologisation and the fixation on the future.
Other artists and companies include Patricia Légaré Eddisford's world première of The Tarantula about #MeToo and power dynamics, jazz musician Gentiane MG and Societe d’art Vocal Montreal featuring pianist Jennifer Szeto and guitarist Derek Henriques with Kelmti Horra (My word is free) by Emel Mathlouthi, who went viral in the Arab Spring of 2011.
William Burdett-Coutts, Artistic Director and Founder of Assembly Festival, said, “we are delighted that international companies can still participate in this year’s Fringe through presenting their work online. With the ongoing restrictions on travel still in place, the Showcatcher site is an ideal platform to ensure that international work is still included in the Fringe programme. Assembly Festival has had a long relationship with Québec and we very much look forward to welcoming back live shows in 2022."