HEN
Suivre Hen sur les réseaux sociaux
HEN is a French show that has already been presented with English subtitles and interventions in English. The purpose of the show is international and inclusive.
The name of the caractère Hen is a Swedish pronoun which entered their dictionary in 2015 and designates a person who is either male or female. It is often used in scholastic manuals working with less discriminatory pedagogy.
In Johanny Bert’s new creation, HEN is a puppet character manipulated in full view by two actors. HEN transforms its body at will, playing with stereotypical masculine and feminine imagery.
HEN is a larger-than-life exuberant and outrageous diva, ever virile in heels, singing about love, hope, bodies and sexuality with absolute freedom.
Both a concert and a musical narrative, HEN is accompanied by two electro-acoustic musicians playing original creations onstage, freely takes its roots in Berlin’s 1930s cabaret era as well as in the contemporary queer performance scene.
The project references a community which has been discriminated against, as well as old quarrels, unfortunately still valid politically and artistically. When searching for identity, or seeking absolute answers, HEN is perhaps an out-of-the-ordinary character, one not seeking either definition or norms. The character is multiple, transformable.
With a body made of foam, wood, metal and latex, detailed and sculpted, HEN is a puppet character, manipulated in full view of the audience by two actors. HEN transforms and plays with masculine and feminine images, thanks to a body which can change, imbued with sarcasm and insolence as necessary. HEN exists in multiple identities, as embodied in the many costumes worn or the lack of them, the nudity of the bodies. Backstage, there are a number of HEN marionettes with the same face but slightly different bodies which will allow HEN onstage to take on different silhouettes.
The multiple body variations were created by Eduardo Felix, a plastician and sculptor, under the direction of Johanny Bert.
HEN TOUR 2021/2022
19 au 21 septembre 2021 : Festival mondial des théâtres de marionnettes, Charleville-Mézières
28 septembre au 1er octobre 2021 : La Comédie de Clermont-Ferrand, scène nationale
8 au 10 octobre 2021 : Théâtre de Marionnettes de Genève (Suisse)
22 octobre 2021: ABC, Dijon
23 et 24 novembre 2021 : Festival Skin, Dschungel Wien, Vienne (Autriche)
9 au 26 décembre 2021 : Les Célestins – Théâtre de Lyon
22 janvier 2022 : Espace Marcel Carné, St Michel sur Orge
26 et 27 janvier 2022 : La Paillette, Rennes
2 au 9 février 2022 : Le Monfort Théâtre, Paris
22 février 2022 : Le Sablier, Ifs
26 mars 2022 : Festival + de genres, KLAP Maison pour la danse, Marseille
5 et 6 avril 2022 : Le Trident - Scène nationale de Cherbourg-en-Cotentin
9 avril 2022 : MIMA & L'Estive – Scène nationale de Foix et de l'Ariège
13 et 14 avril 2022 : Théâtre de Mende
16 avril 2022 : Théâtre Le Periscope, Nîmes
20 au 22 avril 2022 : Théâtre Sorano, Toulouse
6 mai 2022 : La Garance - Scène nationale de Cavaillon
10 et 11 mai 2022 : Scène nationale 61, Alençon
13 mai 2022 : Théâtre Le Passage - Scène conventionnée théâtre et objets, Fécamp
1er et 2 juin 2022 : Le Moulin du Roc - Scène nationale, Niort
16 et 17 juin 2022 : Le Pilier des Anges, Fontenay-sous-Bois
CONTACTS
Artistic director
Johanny Bert
Production, touring
Mathieu Hilléreau, Les Indépendances
+33 (0)1 43 38 39 31
production@lesindependances.com
Théâtre de Romette
12 Rue Agrippa d'Aubigné
63000 Clermont-Ferrand / FRANCE
HEN CAST
Conception, direction and voice of "HEN" : Johanny Bert
In collaboration with Cécile Vitrant
Manipulators of "HEN : Johanny Bert Hen Voice), Anthony Diaz
Live music : Guillaume Bongiraud (electro-acoustic cello), Cyrille Froger (percussion)
With original lyrics of Prunella Rivière, Alexis Morel, Laurent Madiot, Pierre Notte, Yuma Ornelle and a song of Brigitte Fontaine
Puppets : Eduardo Felix / Laurent Huet
Costumes : Pétronille Salomé
Costumes interns : Lune Forestier, Solène Legrand, Marie Oudot
Vocal coach : Anne Fischer
Dramaturg : Olivia Burton
Stage manager : Gilles Richard
Sound designer & engineer : Frédéric Dutertre
Administration, production, touring : Mathieu Hilléreau, Les Indépendances
Photographer: Christophe Raynaud-Delage