© Dirk Sevenants
Théâtre d'Un Jour
Patrick Masset founded the Théâtre d'Un Jour in 1994. A director with a degree in philosophy, Patrick Masset comes from a background in theatre and is passionate about hand-to-hand work; he advocates physical, transdisciplinary theatre rooted in reality.
In 2008, he created L'Enfant qui ..., a show based on the work of sculptor Jephan de Villiers.
With Strach - a fear song, he is guided by two desires: to bring together circus and opera, via the original concept of ‘portés de voix’, and to rediscover a circus of the origins, wild and strange.
In his latest project, Reclaim, a lyric singer, five circus performers and two cellists invite us to experience an imaginary ritual in which the writing and the dramaturgy lead the work of the body and the voice towards a fundamentally artistic proposition. Reclaim is a collective experience, an act of resistance that means reclaiming what you have been separated from.
Reclaim
RECLAIM is an imaginary ritual in which an opera singer, two cellists, and five acrobatic lifting artists invite us to rediscover a fairer relationship with the world. What is offered here is not a performance, but a collective experience.
This project is conceived as a necessity, a form of secular prayer.
A singular moment to be experienced as a return to the origins of theatre—marked by wildness, the circle, strangeness, sometimes monstrosity, extreme closeness, and fear.
RECLAIM is an act of resistance, meaning to become capable of recovering, of reclaiming what one has been separated from.
writing and direction Patrick Masset · singer Blandine Coulon en alternance avec Camille Brault · circus artists Chloé Chevallier, César Mispelon, Lisandro Gallo alternating with Sofía Belén Enríquez, Paul Krügener, Joaquin Diego Bravo alternating with Lucas Elias. · cellists Eugénie Defraigne alternating with Suzanne Vermeyen and Florence Sauveur, Ambre Tamagna alternating with Claire Goldfarb · general and light manager Manu Buttner alternating with Paul-Emile Perreau · set design Oria Puppo · puppet Polina Borissova · masks Isis Hauben · iron work Jean-Marc Simon · painted backdrop Eugénie Obolensky · choregraphic work Dominique Duszynski · assistant Lola Chuniaud · light design Frédéric Vannes (theatre) & Emily Brassier (tent) · production and distribution : Bérénice Masset / Fomo Productions · coproductions : les Halles de Schaerbeek (B), Maillon, Théâtre de Strasbourg - Scène Européenne (F), Le Vilar - Louvain-la-Neuve (B), le Palais des Beaux-Arts - Charleroi (B), UP - Circus & Performing Arts (B) · supports MAD Festival (B), Centre Culturel de Bièvre (B), Theater op de Markt/Dommelhof van Neerpelt (B), CAS (B), Wallonie-Bruxelles International, Loterie Nationale (FWB), la Wallonie and Wallonie Bruxelles Théâtre Danse.
Prix Maeterlinck 2023 (B)
Prix Saint Joseph du FIT – Rio Preto 2024 (Br)
Prix Florencia du Meilleur spectacle étranger (Ur)
© Luis Aureo
© Anne Baraquin
Creation
2027–28 season
Jonas
(working title)
Blending singing, acting, and acrobatic lifts, JONAS (working title) offers an experience that goes beyond our borders and our walls—whether visible or invisible—those that are imposed on us or that we create for ourselves.
Drawing on the structure of tales and rituals, and on the principle of absurdity pushed to its extreme, the questions raised here are essential for the grown-up children we have become: how do we live together? What are death and time?
writing and direction Patrick Masset · singer Blandine Coulon · circus artists Chloé Chevallier, Paul Krügener, Juan Manuel Cisneros, alternating with César Mispelon (in progress) · musical arrangements: Jean-Louis Cortès · general and light manager Manu Buttner alternating with Paul-Emile Perreau · set design Oria Puppo · masks Isis Hauben · light design Frédéric Vannes · production and distribution : T1J and Fomo Productions · coproductions : le Poche (B) · supports Théâtre Marni, Up – Circus & Performing Arts (BE), Vivalia Psychiatric Hospital La Clairière (BE), EHPAD Val de Meuse, Croix-Rouge de Givet (FR), Centrum Het Opvangcentrum in Poelkapelle (BE), Centre Culturel de Bièvre (BE), Centre Culturel de Beauraing (BE) – in progress.
Vivre
(working title)
The “Living” project (working title) is an intercultural artistic initiative unfolding in six phases, scheduled between the 2025–26 and 2028–29 seasons.
Its aim is to build a bridge between different geographical, social, and cultural areas across Europe, West Africa, and South America.
This project explores the theme of transmission through a series of encounters and unique creative processes in which each culture questions and enriches the others. The objective is to bring together artists from a wide range of disciplines (music, dance, circus, sung voice, etc.) and to interweave their perspectives and practices around the creation of three original works—independent yet complementary—which can be programmed together or separately.
Creation
2027–28 season
© Olafur Eliasson
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