Compagnie Luc Amaros’ Page Blanche, Thames Festival

By: Justine Law

The second part to my birthday weekend involved a very different kind of performance.  On September 11th, some friends and I attended the Thames Festival.  The festival included a large variety of performances, but the one that I enjoyed most was Compagnie Luc Amaros’ Page Blanche, performed at the Watch This Space Festival in the National Theatre Square.  This was a much calmer performance than the Aoki concert, but still just as enjoyable and engaging. 
    The performance consisted of a mixture of visual art, music, and theater.  A large scaffolding was constructed with nine equal squares, each containing a performer and a stretched, rotatable canvas.  Each canvas could be lit up from behind, creating silhouettes of the performers, or from the front, to reveal the painting.  During the performance, live music was played and the performers spoke directly to the audience.  They told stories, not only by speech, but also by using paint.  Each performer took turns reciting lines to the audience which told a small story.  While each person spoke, the others were behind their canvases painting to illustrate more of the story.  Some flipped their canvases to reveal their work to the audience while others continued painting and repainting.  Things were continuously happening within the scaffold, which kept the audience engaged and interested. 

    The performers’ timing and accuracy was impeccable.  They worked so well together to create images that connected with each other, despite the fact that each artist was in their own square.  The ones below could not see the ones above very well, yet they were able to paint amazing pictures together for the audience.  Each artist was equally talented and able not only to express their own creativity, but also use teamwork to create larger scale paintings for the viewers.  At one point, each artist painted their own portrait and each came forward to tell a brief history about themselves.  During another segment, they painted a large cowboy riding a horse which involved all nine squares.
    At times, the paintings would be very colorful and happy, like during their brief introductions.  Lighter music was played to match the mood of the stories.  During other times of the performance, the paintings were done in black and white to convey the seriousness and sadness of the story they were telling.  Darker, more serious music was played to compliment the intensity of the story.  For example, one segment involved a story about slaves being taken away on a train.  All nine squares used black and white paint to write significant, connecting sentences across the canvases along with pictures of figures with sad expressions.  During another portion, the performers stood behind the canvases and were lit from the back to create silhouettes of themselves.  Music was played as the silhouettes playfully danced for the audience.  As soon as the music stopped, they froze in place.  The lights turned off for a few seconds and when they came back on, the artists revealed that they had painted their silhouettes onto the canvases from memory. 

    This performance was unlike any other I had seen.  I was captivated by the artists’ ability to perform, paint, and most of all, work together.  This was a type of visual art and live theater that I had never experienced.  I was not only very entertained, but moved by the messages that the artists’ had conveyed.  I greatly appreciated and enjoyed all aspects of this unique performance.