Interview of Aurélien Bory
by Stéphane Boitel, published in Le Journal du Théâtre Garonne, January 2003

Plan B?

Aurélien Bory. –  An expression used mainly in whodunits and action films. You go on to plan B when plan A didn’t work. I enjoy all that enormously: building up a plan, providing a spare one, in the knowledge that if that also fails, there will be no “plan C”. The characters of Plan B are in that state of mind, action, hope, fragility. Alone with their plans…  

Ground plan?

A. B. – Plan B is the second spectacle of a trilogy, which combines juggling and acrobatics with space constraints. In JUI, the work on the cube, the volume, had revealed the rhythm and musicality of juggling and offered a different perception of this discipline: instead of displaying it, approaching it from its visual side, we proposed listening to it. With Plan B, it’s the plan we explore. Which puts the scenography at the centre of our work. This special geometry requires a certain reference to movement and acrobatics, in a tenuous link with the laws of physics. We attempt to incorporate it in the broadest possible way, and to perceive what dreams, qualities, dangers are concealed behind this dialogue with gravity.  

Plan sequence?

A. B. – Decomposition of movement reminds us of the cinema and of photography, for example the work of Muybridge or Marey – who in fact took a great interest in acrobatics. For the cinema, I would cite Méliès, who used cinematic artifices for the purposes of magic and illusion. We pay tribute to him in Plan B, except that with us, the artifice doesn’t disappear behind the illusion: on the contrary, it’s rather a question of revealing the device, underlining its simplicity, the paucity of technical resources, and only using its poetical content. Different episodes of the show are inspired by the cinema, citing Keaton for example, who remains the actor’s reference, in the sense that his work consisted in adopting several artistic practices. We are fond of this approach: bringing together on the stage music, acrobatics, juggling and dance, as means of doing our job as actors. 

Plan of attack?

A. B. – Basically, my role was to design and construct Plan B, then bring together the artistic team. Light and sound are very important in our shows. The actors are acrobats, jugglers, musicians in one. They all create the entire artistic material based on the constraints of the show, in particular the scenography. Each member of the team is responsible for their own work, develops their own scenic style, while trying to connect it with their internal universe. This produces a fragmented style, which Phil Soltanoff bases himself on to develop the staging. His presence is very important, not only for the show, but also for each one of us.

Aurélien Bory was born in Colmar in 1972. His studies in physics in Strasbourg led him to the field of architectural acoustics.  He then ended his scientific curriculum in 1995.  He settled in Toulouse where he joined the creative studio at the Lido, the Circus Arts Centre. In 1998, he played in Theatre Tattoo's "L'Odyssée" directed by Mladen Materic.  In 2000 he founded Compagnie 111 with actor Olivier Alenda.  He then conceived and began the six-year-long space trilogy project, in collaboration with Phil Soltanoff, including "IJK", "Plan B" and "Plus ou moins l'infini" (More or less, Infinity).
In 2003 he directed Pierre Rigal in his first solo creation Erection, the stem of their ungoing collaboration, which also originated their second work together: Arrêts de Jeu premiered in 2006. Merging various other fields, he created "Taoub" in 2004 in Tangier with twelve moroccan acrobats, this very show will launch the international career of the Groupe acrobatique de Tanger (Tangier Acrobatic Group).  In 2008 Aurélien was the recipient of the "Créateur sans frontières" (Creator without borders)/ Radio France trophy for his international creations, notably "Les sept planches de la ruse" (The seven boards of skill) created in China in 2007 with performers from Dalian. In 2008 and 2009, he conceived two creations: "Questcequetudeviens?", a portrait of a woman, and "Sans Objet", a piece for an industrial robot. His creations include different artistic fields : theatre, circus, dance, visual arts, music...  His genre-crossing approach is inscribed within the question of space and is explored through his distinctive scenography. In 2016, he created "ESPÆCE" based on the French writer Georges Perec 's work, at the Festival d'Avignon (France).

Source: Company 111 's website ; Plan Bey 's press file

More information : cie111.com