Teaser
Presentation
Je tirerais pour toi [I'm Pulling for You] is a solo circus-theater performance resulting from two parallel documentary investigations by Chilean artist Pamela Pantoja. The first was research about Fabiola, the only woman who participated in the 1986 assassination attempt against dictator Augusto Pinochet in Santiago de Chile, and the second was a look at her family history. Using aerial silk to evoke violence and fear, and hair suspension as a metaphor for resilience, this circus show connects two stories of resistance that have been previously relegated to silence: that of a struggle led by the Chilean activist against authoritarianism and the struggle of her grandmother against patriarchy.
The braiding of her hair to achieve the hair suspension gives rhythm to the intertwining autobiographical and political narratives. It creates a story that welds together fragments of national and personal memories. By unveiling taboos in political and personal history through circus techniques, the artist bears witness to women's struggles against various oppressions.
Show in French and Spanish with French subtitles.
Creation and performance Pamela Pantoja
Assistant director and light design Alice Leclerc
Theatrical writing Margot Lacaze
Acting director Marion Pastor
Sound design Alex Frigoult
Artistic insight Valérie Bornet, Margherita Bertoli
Thanks to Julie Nedelec Andrade, Gaël Marsaud
Coproduction Archaos national circus center in Marseille
Support Théâtre Antoine Vitez in Aix-en-Provence / CIAM-UT23 Mirail art initiative program at the University of Toulouse / the Agence de Voyages Imaginaires company as part of the Séjours Explorateurs / Pôle Nord / ZimZam association
"Je tirerais pour toi is a solo circus performance that mixes aerial ribbons, hair suspension, object manipulation, and theater. By addressing the theme of violence, whether at the political level or within the family, real and/or symbolic, the show is a gripping creation with a burning topicality."
– RMTnews
The Merkén collective was founded in Marseille in 2019 and is composed mainly of women from diverse backgrounds. It offers original shows as well as educational and socio-cultural initiatives. The guiding theme of all the collective's activities is the question of the power to act and the capacity to defend and respond to different forms of oppression. The creations of the Merkén collective revive stories that have been made invisible. These are stories where the intimate and the political are intertwined, drawing upon a plurality of interpretations to help deconstruct dominant narratives.