Théâtre de La Licorne
Led by Claire Dancoisne, Théâtre La Licorne is a real reference to the French and international scene in terms of its use of masks, objects and ‘puppet comedians’. The manipulation of home-made objects and masks are at the core of their shows. Actors, visual artists and musicians work together to take imagination further. The beauty of the images and the art of the masks are their way to explore a theatrical language made of flesh, paper, metal, colours and sounds. Non-realistic and often poetic, La Licorne proposes a unique blend of contemporary theatre, visual arts and puppetry.
Since its creation in 1986, the company has made more than thirty shows that have travelled through the roads of France and participated in numerous international festivals.
For Meet the Neighbours, two plasticians - Chicken and Jeanne Smith - lived in an apartment in the Docteur Paul Breynaert residence in Béthune (a unit of 88 social housings in the heart of the town, in a priority neighbourhood) for two weeks, from 20-31 May 2019. They worked with residents to transform the neighbourhood into a great imaginary menagerie, filled with their poetry and fantasy.
Jeanne Smith is a visual artist. Working mainly in screen printing, engraving and drawing, she likes to work with paper – cutting it, superimposing it, sticking it and twisting it, giving it volume. She is inspired by topics such as botany, entomology, zoology or anatomy. Since 2003, she has participated in collective and solo exhibitions in France and abroad. She is also a cultural mediator and illustrator. She loves to teach screen printing and engraving, and share her knowledge.
Chicken (Frédéric Tourard) is a plastician, painter and dessinator. He has been committing artistic attacks, kitsch and offbeat, for 15 years. With an overflowing imagination and fool proof enthusiasm, this absurd and inventive character, explores infernal dimensions with a lot of humour. An entomological fanatic, the artist (whose totem is the fly), imagines giant insects and monsters…
Photos by Thomas Faverjon
- Residencies:
- Béthune
