Nagelhus Schia Productions // Thrice

The previous collaboration between Jalet and Nagelhus Schia Productions resulted in the critically acclaimed production DuEls at the Vigeland Museum in 2020. DuEls later became a film directed by Jonas Åkerlund, currently being screened at film festivals around the world. 

This piece, like its name suggests, is a triptych. The number three is an important one, both in the work of Damien Jalet and in the references he cites, from Greek tragedy to Japanese theatre, mathematics to religion; past, present and future, body, mind and soul; matter, time and space.

This number also and above all recalls the elements that Octavio Paz summons in his poem Wind, Water, Stone. These fundamental, complementary components are gathered here in three sequences, Gusts, Médusés and Brise-lames, around a literal common ground. Indeed, during each new chapter, the performers roll out carpets, on the sides then in the back of the stage, thus building a decor, or rather a portal to another dimension. The Wind, the sea and the water thus become the main characters that together hold the timeless and evolving language of this piece; that of bodies attempting not to solidify. 

Gusts, the first section, is about air—breath and movement – and pays homage to the force that carries us. Gusts is a dialogue between body and sound, highlighting the tension between gravity and centripetal force. 

Médusés, the second chapter, takes its cue from the myth of Medusa and the idea of being petrified by a gaze. Here, bodies resist – between rigidity and fluidity, the individual and the collective. 

Brise-lames, the final part, transports us underwater. Created in collaboration with artist JR and Japanese pianist Koki Nakano, this piece, which has only been available to the public as a film directed by Louise Narboni in close collaboration with Damien Jalet, will now be performed live for the first time. The movements here are slow – like a ship approaching shore, or waves reaching land. 

Thrice is a work in constant motion – a story of bodies attempting not to solidify. This project has allowed Damien Jalet to return to the founding principles of his work, a minimalist exploration of movement. His more recent creations have operated on a very grand scale, with ambitious scenography and apparatus. In Thrice, complexity lies elsewhere: in the movements, lights and sound, and in the search of how combination, association and repetition might generate new emotions.