Photo credit Jean-Baptiste Bucau

The theater is small. On the tiny stage are four sets of industrial steel shelves, dimly lit, containing some objects that cannot be seen. The name of the piece translates as Stick-up. The lights go out and in the sudden blackness the loud wail of a police siren and a harsh white searchlight come from the back of the house. The light wanders around until it arrives on stage. It is not so big as it seemed at first. A black-clad figure stealthily places a black bag on the floor between the shelves. The figure plunges a hand into the black bag and grabs a tiny police car. A switch is turned off and the siren stops. This is the opening of Braquage, the recounting of a bank heist carried out by two childhood friends. Toy cars, dolls, tiny video screens, spray bottles, all are pressed into service. We are simultaneously in the garage where the two friends have a business and on the journey of the heist, starting with their childhood friendship. The one performer on stage is well-supported by the technical staff and the tiny props as he reenacts his story, sometimes in the past, sometimes in the present.

Braquage takes us back to the time when, as children, we could be simultaneously in the external world and in our imaginary world, using objects that came to hand to further our story as we wished. This production, of course, is planned, and meticulously so, but it seems like magical play. It recalls Picasso’s sculpture of a bull, formed of a bicycle seat and handlebars, inviting us to look at the world with the clear eyes and limitless wonder we used to have. The only problem with Braquage is that its six performances took place in three days. A piece like this needs some time for word of mouth to build. Perhaps in future Braquage can return to New York for a much longer run to enchant many more audiences.


Compagnie Bakélite
Presented by HERE and The Dream Music Puppetry Program
HERE
145 Sixth Avenue
New York, NY
Tickets $20 Call 212 352 3101