théâtre de l'ombrelle

The ambition of this show is to embark the young public on a « Trip » into the East, to the ground of humor, wisdom and ambience typical of the East. Nasreddin never travels without his donkey! His wrangles with his animal make him endorse all roles, from the sage to the idiot. From the meeting of silly remarks and paradoxes, emerge the first-rate revelations on human condition. A young boy from Istanbul, supporter of small jobs, settles questions on life, on knowledge and on men. These traditional stories are a way to answer him. They are told on Shadow Theater and introduced each time by short pictures filmed in Istanbul, inscribing them so in a context of modernity: the ferryman and the scholar. The lion and the scholars. Elephant in the dark. The casserole. The river. The stolen donkey. The ten donkeys. The bet. Nasreddin, his son and his donkey. The structure of this show is based on a repetitive regular schema, (projection – debate – story – intermezzo), which regulates the scenario.

Production
The big screen (6m x 4m) in the middle of the stage is the place where the tale is told and the support to reflect shades (big concealed bodily silhouettes, puppets, decors, light and color tricks). Some video sequences locate meetings and debates of the young person and the adult in an actual ambience.

Music and interpreters Three actresses play the part of the shades and manipulations: In an ambience of music saloon located in front of the screen, two musicians, Turkish and Serbian, Mahmut Demir and Jaşko Ramic accompany the show. During the stories, they regulate shades and dialogues, create sound effects, in intermezzos they develop a musical game. They play oriental traditional instruments, saz, kémanché, accordion, davul, bendir which they introduce to the children at the end of show. The show can receive a public of 400 children. Created at the beginning of 2008 in the Paris area, the show then embarked on a tour in France to perform about 80 presentations.