A very explosive trio

Avignon Festival Off - Under construction- Théâtre Buffon - 9.30pm

In a scenography reminiscent of some Kusturica movies, three lunar-clown characters invite the audience into their eccentric, mute and absurd world. In an effervescence of bursts. Of electricity and laughter.

An early morning in a flat awaiting renovation. Three outliers wake up, go to the toilet. Try to make a nice cup of tea. Everyday life in all its banality. But seen through the absurd and zany prism of the Davai company. Here, plugging in a kettle, chasing away a cockroach or having a shower become scenes of delightful burlesque extravagance.

We discover three moving characters. As wobbly as the scenery in which they evolve. Modern clowns, dressed in dubious white and sporting improbable moustaches, who turn routine into exceptional. Distil poetry into all their excesses and repeated comedy with a sense of restraint. In a staging of remarkable inventiveness.

And even if they are three on the stage, their trio is completed by an invisible but essential character: the lighting and sound, constantly present. Fundamental to the whole performance and the audience's enjoyment of this absurd world, teeming with details and outlandish ideas. Right down to the tips of their toes. Just for pleasure, we'll mention the death of a mosquito, choreographed like the death of the swan ; a hookah made from a syphon and drainpipes that becomes a weapon or a musical instrument. A detonating and devilishly effective percussion, a splashing shower session, a construction site Goldorak (Grendizer) or a flesh-and-blood Super Mario.

Everything here is finely thought out, right down to the most unrestrained excesses. It's dynamic, poetic, funny. And bloody effective!

Karine PROST

Avignon, 16th July 2025

Picture © Alfredo Millan

With : Vitaly Azarin ; Losha Gavrielov ; Fyodor Makarov