conception and direction Oskar Gómez Mata
in collaboration with Esperanza López – L’Alakran
texts Perú C. Sabán e Oskar Gómez Mata
with Fiamma Camesi, Maria Danalet, Oscar Gómez Mata, Esperanza López, Olga Onrubia, Valerio Scamuffa
and with the participation of Bidhan Barua
direction assistant Delphine Rosay
setting, video and photograohy Chine Curchod, Régis Golay, Oskar Gómez Mata
machine construction Stéphane Golay
bird’s little house construcion Philippe Joner
setting coordinator Claire Peverelli
technical and lights direction Roberto Cafaggini
sound creation Serge Amacker
light creation Michel Faure
sound direction Christophe Bollondi / Xavier Weissbrodt
costumes Isa Boucharlat
production, administration and translation Barbara Giongo
distribution Miguel Acebes
Compagnie L’Alakran, Comédie de Genève – centre dramatique, Espace Malraux, scène nationale de Chambéry et de la Savoie
with the help of Festival BAD di Bilbao, Grand Marché – centre dramatique de l’Océan
indien, L’Arsenic – centre d’Art scénique contemporain (Lausanne) e Théâtre du Grütli
– Fondation suisse pour la culture, Pour-Cent culturel Migros e Fondation Ernst Göhner
L’Alakran benefits of a convention between the Repubblic and the Canton of Geneva, the City of Geneva and Pro Helvetia – Swiss Foundation for the Culture 2014 tournée benefits of the help of CORODIS (Commission Romande de Diffusion des Spectacles) e and of Loterie Romande
Running time 1h 50’
L’Alakran presents a disarming and biting play on the ineffability of life and on human obsession with time and its passing. Founded in 1997 by the director, actor, writer and designer Oskar Gómez Mata who has been living and working in Genève for over15 years, the Swiss company L’Alakran researches an original and immediately recognizable idea of conceiving its projects. Starting with an idea or a theme, Oskar Gómez Mata develops a chain of work that goes on by dramaturgical elements, rehearsals, courses and workshops, in order to investigate a different relationship between the textual material and the stage, between the interpreter and the audience, between the play and the audience. The result is a totally new method of conceiving the relationship between the cast and the public: the performance is not over till it is enjoyed by the spectators themselves. As most of the performances by L’Alakran, also Kaïros looks like a playful, poetic, philosophical and often political play: the first actor and director Gómez Mata starts by sophisticated reflections on human beings and on existence to arrive to the ancient Greek philosophy (Sisyphus, who repeats the same action to infinity and Kairos, an intermediary time between two moments on linear time) but also to mysticism and new concepts of the physics of the twentieth century.
Being Kaïros means to be well synchronized with the totality. This concept designates a certain quality of time, the recognition of the right time to act…The main theme of this work is the time, which is the main subject of human concerns. We live trapped in chronological time, in the line of life from birth to death. As we are called to live and die, we swim in a huge paradox: on one hand, we act as if we were to live forever (we all have to look young, dynamic and independent) and on the other hand we live with the anxiety that everything is destined to end with death. And we wonder what is the meaning of our life, when we know that all our efforts are vain… We are interested in exploring the matter of time in order to see if there is a “spherical” time which is different from the chronological time, a time that allows us to amplify the meaning of our life. “We propose to make holes in time, holes in the possibility, opportunity holes. Make holes, look through these, see Kaïros. You will see: BEHIND THE HOLE, THERE IS EVERYTHING.”
Oskar Gómez Mata
Oskar Gómez Mata
Director and actor, but also writer and designer, Oskar Gómez Mata starts his theatrical career in Spain where, in 1987 creates the company Legaleón-T and produces numerous performances until 1996. During his work at the Théâtre Saint-Gervais in Geneva from 1999 to 2005 and at the Subsistances of Lyon in 2006, he is the director of twelve plays, which toured around France, Spain, Portugal and Latin America. Beyond his activity as a director, Oskar Gómez Mata is also trainer and pedagogue at the school of theatre Serge Martin of Geneva as well as at the Manufacture – High School of theatres of Suisse Romande (HETSR) and in the setting of the Chantiers nomades (continuing vocational training structure for the show business professionals in France). He also works at the Master’s program in scenic practice and visual culture organized by the University of Alcalá (Madrid) and at the dance professional meetings of Geneva.