“When You Have A Line, And There’s No Vibration On The Line, It’s Boring.” (Dickheads Part III)

More of the same today: Philippe working with individuals to discover their beauty and fun with their modern Bouffon.

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Duncan went first, dressed in a white straight jacket with his arms tied behind him across his chest, and a muzzle covering his mouth - like Hannibal Lector.

He got him to hold a big cross in-between his taut arms and walk slowly towards the audience whilst speaking in a quiet deep voice...and every now and then (when Philippe beat his drum) Duncan would break out and scream like a monster through gritted teeth and a tense body. It was spooky!

“We receive Duncan very well...you don’t do too much and we receive something good.”

There was a short discussion about the muzzle he was wearing, because for Philippe it looked like a beard, and for those of us that knew the reference to Hannibal we knew it was a muzzle to stop him from biting people. But it was decided that it’s better for us not to be taken to a movie, or another actor’s role, in our imaginations. It’s better for us just to be with Duncan. So he tried it again without the muzzle, this time with two women dressed as men holding ropes attached to him, and Sam in a trolley holding a drip - who repeated some of his lines now and then with a little maniacal laugh, and Mark standing big and staunch at the back ready to slap Duncan if he went out of line. And it worked just as well without the muzzle, if not better.

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Mia worked, dressed like a kind of sassy cuban prostitute. Philippe got all the transvestites to stand spread out on stage, as well as a few rough looking homeless guys, and told her she was “the best pute of the brothel.” 

The image was good, with her being revealed from behind the curtain centere-stage, but she had trouble finding the right voice. I wanted it to be really light, high, and beautiful, but it was more deep and strong. Eventually Philippe played some Edith Piaf and got Mia to sing her text (she always wins like this) and she was beautiful. Tall and powerful.

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Finally Sophia got up, dressed like a mad homeless person who thinks she’s a young girl. Philippe got her to pretend to be Snow White, playing in the style of Children’s Theatre.

“I’m wishing! I’m wishing! For the man I love!”

Then he got her to pretend to be Marilyn Monroe - “It’s good when you’re a bit sexual” - and she was great like this. Fun, mocking, strange... “In this way you could be strong and beautiful.”

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“They never say something strong in a strong way.”

“They suffer so much but they laugh about it.”

“When you have a line, and there’s no vibration on the line, it’s boring.” It has to buzz!

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It really hit me today how powerful and beautiful Bouffon can be. You can watch something and be absolutely mesmerised by it, but at the same time be totally disgusted and saddened and angry. It’s dark, and tough, but so so beautiful. At the end you feel totally knocked out. Like you’ve just seen something wonderful, but you feel sick.