Five performers step into a medieval fresco: frozen poses, sculpted bodies, sacred images. Except that here, the scenes won’t stay still. They unfold, fall apart, and break free.
Little by little, the scene transforms into an epic: medieval pop, songs, discussions about the body, dances that shift from ritual to concert.
Together with historian Clovis Maillet, the Foulles collective sets out to explore the queer fissures in history—those that allow other narratives, other identities, and other ways of being to emerge.
When the Middle Ages crack, everything we thought was set in stone begins to shift.
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The Foulles collective is the coming together of five friends—dancers who play on the homophones of their names, the figure of the fool, and a wealth of energy and artistic practices. Their work is a jumble—with no hierarchy—of their most diverse passions: pop music, slapstick comedy, the Middle Ages, as well as fire sticks, sewing, opera, fashion, breakdancing, unusual hairstyles, and objects ranging from miniature to oversized. To date, the collective has created four plays: Song for four people and one bench (2019), A prayer before the crack of dawn (2020), Medieval Crack (2022), and Le cerveau mou de l’existence (2024). The latter is a finalist for the Premio and premiered at the Belluard Festival in collaboration with historian Clovis Maillet.
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Concept, choreography: Collectif Foulles: Collin Cabanis, Auguste de Boursetty, Délia Krayenbühl, Emma Saba & Fabio Zoppelli
Performance: Collin Cabanis, Auguste de Boursetty, Délia Krayenbühl, Clovis Maillet, Fabio Zoppelli
Music editing: Nygel Panasco
Stage Manager: Redwan Reys
External Advisors: Lisa Laurent, Emma Saba
Medieval Consultant: Clovis Maillet
Production and Distribution: Maxine Devaud /oh la la – performing arts production
Co-production: Belluard Bollwerk
Supported by: Canton of Fribourg, Loterie Romande, Schweizerische Interpretenstiftung SIS, PREMIO – Encouragement Award for the Performing Arts, with support from the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia, the Ernst Göhner Foundation, and the Migros Culture Percentage
