Gaëlle Bourges / Guillaume & Harold

In January 2023, Les Indépendances began a collaboration with the Centre Chorégraphique National of Caen in Normandy to support the development and touring of their creations, including projects by choreographer and director Alban Richard and the “Collection Tout Terrain.”
After À mon seul désir (created in 2014, presented in 2015 at the Festival d’Avignon), inspired by the tapestry The Lady and the Unicorn, and Ce que tu vois (created in 2018), based on the Apocalypse Tapestry in Angers, Gaëlle Bourges now turns her attention, at the invitation of Alban Richard and the “Collection Tout Terrain” of the CCN of Caen, to the Bayeux Tapestry.

“Several things immediately stand out in this tapestry:
The tapestry is very narrow (50 cm), but very long (70 meters).
It depicts, like a giant comic strip, the conquest of the English crown in the 11th century by William, Duke of Normandy, against Harold Godwinson, brother-in-law to the King of England.
Represented using wool threads in ten different colors are:
626 characters including William and Harold;
202 horses and mules;
41 ships;
37 buildings including Mont-Saint-Michel;
Halley’s comet;
a Channel crossing;
a giant barbecue;
the Battle of Hastings, with the wounded and the dead – hence the scene that reads: Here, the English and the French died together in battle.
(…)
Guillaume & Harold will plunge audiences into this long-winded tale of invasion that ends either well then badly, or badly then well – it all depends on the perspective one adopts (English or French). One might even better understand Brexit – even though this all took place ten centuries earlier.
The episodic structure of the piece will allow the audience to experience a series of key moments from the work – or from William’s conquest of England.
(…)
The challenge here: to portray a hundred characters, dozens of horses, mules, ships, the Channel, Mont-Saint-Michel, Halley’s comet, a giant barbecue, the historic battle… with just two performers and almost nothing else.
Or how to serve up a delightful slice of history with voice-over, songs and screams, lots of dance and music – 11th-century melodies mixed with electro, noisy percussion, and glitchy whistles.
A kind of proto-Netflix program made with wood, cardboard, and a low budget.”

Gaëlle Bourges, May 2024

Website of the centre chorégraphique national de Caen en Normandie
On tour

Contact: Mathieu Hilléreau
mathieu@lesindependances.com