A new filmed circus show from the 7 Fingers is a must-see work of pandemic art
Globe and Mail, Kelly Nestruck, Vancouver
This result is ultimately one of the most moving works of art I’ve seen that has engaged directly with the subject of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Globe and Mail, Kelly Nestruck, Vancouver
A fun-house mirror reflection of how we all navigate the world today.
Globe and Mail, Kelly Nestruck, Vancouver
While Out of Order doesn’t hesitate to tap into current anxieties about our fragile and freakish bodies, it is also full of joy. There is plenty of humour amid the high-wire acts and hoop tricks – including the funniest bit I’ve ever seen involving a mask, executed with extreme seriousness.
Globe and Mail, Kelly Nestruck, Vancouver
Out of Order is poetry in motion and in stillness.
Globe and Mail, Kelly Nestruck, Vancouver
Oh sweet, sweet sexiness! There’s darkness in this pandemic-themed, pandemic-era production from the circus collective Les 7 doigts de la main but, for me, the overriding experience is about the spectacular joys of embodiment and connection.
Colin Thomas, colinthomas.ca
The 7 Fingers (better known as Les 7 Doigts) bring edge to the acrobatic arts—taking risks that go far beyond defying gravity.
Stir, Janet Smith
Les 7 Doigts humanizes aerial and acrobatic work, and that’s what makes it the perfect company to express pandemic uncertainty and isolation.
Stir, Janet Smith
By the end of watching Out of Order, you’ll understand how incredibly necessary their work, and art, is. A bit like breathing.
Stir, Janet Smith
At times dark and somber, at others exuberant and joyful, Out Of Order offers you a seat you’ve never had before, at a circus the likes of which you’ve never seen before. It’s an intoxicating marriage of circus, theatre and film.
joledingham.ca, Jo Ledingham
In September 2020, against all odds, The 7 Fingers embarked on a new adventure. Taking into account our collective health while quenching our desire to create and collaborate, we gathered colleagues, artists and designers to create a show that embraces social distancing and other COVID-imposed measures. With the support of CALQ and of La Tohu, we created Out of Order. When Montreal became a red zone, Out of order lost the opportunity to meet its audience. Rather than letting the show disappear before it came to life, it was transformed into a film. Out of order is not simply a digital recording of a show but a cinematographic work in its own.
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In a not so distant future lingers the bitter aftertaste of a déjà vu, the theatres are empty, meeting places and cultural venues are no longer permitted, physical contact is prohibited. Artists are forced to meet secretly in forsaken spaces.
The big top is achingly deserted. Spread out across this post-apocalyptic setting, ten gloved and masked characters, scrutinize one another, prepare, approach and avoid contact. Coming from all walks of life, these forgotten acrobats cling to their vocation as best they can.
What was a performance now feels more like a masquerade of fallen aristocracy wavering between the thrill of shining in the spotlight and the futility of exhibition without an audience.
In this nod to thespian traditions, our cast plays with the notions of bourgeoisie, poverty, power and pleasure.
Tongue firmly in cheek, Out Of Order is a look at the social balance between raw animal instinct and the elevation of minds, bodies and souls in an educated and conformed society.
Kelly Nestruck magnificently captures the essence of our film “Out of Order" in a review for The Globe and Mail.
Directors Isabelle Chassé & Gypsy Snider
Cast Tuedon Ariri, Guillaume Biron, Mikael Bruyère-L'Abbé, Eline Guélat, Louis Joyal, Vincent Jutras, Anna Kichtchenko, Antino Pansa, Maude Parent, Samuel Renaud
Editing Francisco Cruz
Editing Assistant, Director of Photography and Cameraman Frédéric Barrette
Music Colin Gagné
Cameraman Brin Schoellkopf
Sound Recording Didier Bergeron
Drone Operator David Etienne Durivage
Sound Designer/Editor/Mixer Colin Gagné
Set Designer Olivier Landreville
Lighting Designer Alexandre Picotte
Costume Designer Elen Ewing
Makeup Designer Véronique St-Germain
Assistant Director and Stage Manager Olaf Triebel
Assistant Director and General Stage Manager Jacinthe Racine
Production Manager Sabrina Gilbert
Technical Manager Sandy Dionne
Technical Coordinator Simon Carrière-Legris
Head Rigger Benoit Rouillard
Lighting Assistant Gabriel Fournier El Ayachi
Lighting Programmer Jonathan Levac
Puppet Maker, Props Coordinator, Runner Maude Pelletier
Assistant Costume Designer Pascale Bassani
Costumes Assistant (Tohu) Julia Metzger-Bogucki
Cutting and Sewing Atelier Julie Sauriol et Julia Matzger-Bogucki
Patina for Costumes Mélanie Turcotte
Acrobatic Consultant Francisco Cruz
Vocal Coach Jocelyn Bigras
Engineering Constultant Marion Cossin
Musicians
Vocals :
Alexandre Désilets (Hand to hand)
Véronique Gauthier (Banquet)
Maude Côté-Gendron (Banquet)
Maude Parent (Hula hoop)
Mykalle Bielinsky ( Hula hoop, End credits)
Guillaume Biron, Tuedon Ariri, Vincent Jutras and Eline Guélat (Tout va très bien madame la marquise)
Accordeon : Anna Kichtchenko (Hand to hand, Tout va très bien madame la marquise)
Clarinet, bass clarinet : Guillaume Bourque ( Juggling )
Piano : Guillaume St-Laurent (Hula hoop)
Additional Musical Arrangements : Antoine Seychal (Banquet, Hula hoop)
The soundtrack contains cover versions/adaptations of :
Harpsichord Concerto No. 5 in F minor bwv 1056 by Johann Sebastian Bach
Tout va très bien madame la Marquise by Paul Misraki
Stabat Mater Dolorosa by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
Quattro stagioni, l’inverno, op.8, rv 297 by Antonio Vivaldi
Entry of the Gladiators, by Julius Fucik
Texts Gypsy Snider (Introduction, Prologue, Dedication) and Charles Beaudelaire (Enivrez-vous)
Translation Nadine Louis and Gypsy Snider
Production team TOHU
Production Director Éric Gingras
Technical Director Jean-François Tremblay
Audio Engineer Guillaume Brind’Amour
Head Electricians Martin Plante and Andréanne Clairemont
Head Maneuver Alexandre Sarfati
Dresser Gabriella Olivares Guerrero
Technical Coordinator François-Michel Beauchamp
Technical Coordinator Martine Éthier Makanda
Thanks to the whole 7 doigts team that made this project possible
