France – Teatro Gioco Vita at the Festival des P‘tits Malins
The Little Flower King by Květa Pacovská is the text which has brought together two historic companies, the Balletto di Roma and Teatro Gioco Vita, in a project that explores a form of contamination between languages such as dance, shadow and music, conceiving it expressly for the little ones.
The Little Flower King is a tale. As in all tales, we have the classic “Once upon a time” and the ever present “King”, but in this case he is small and curious, lives all on his own, loves his garden and fills his pockets with tulip bulbs. It is also a story about two youngsters who live opposite each other – so close and yet so far apart that they’ve never exchanged glances.
The Little Flower King is a show where the theme of the search for happiness is treated lightly and poetically, thanks to a simple and straightforward plot and a lively and imaginative narrative.
With few important words, the story comes to life on stage thanks to a rich score which enhances the beautiful drawings by Teatro Gioco Vita, based on Květa Pacovská’s splendid illustrations, and the expressive movements of the two dancer-actors from the Balletto di Roma.
The French version of this “tale for music, shadow and dance” created by Fabrizio Montecchi and choreographer Valerio Longo premieres on October 19 in Thonon-les-Bains at the Festival des P‘tits Malins.
The Festival –now at its seventh edition– takes place in the territory of Chablais in Haute-Savoie in the second half of October; the programme is dedicated to theatre, publishing, and cinema, and the events are scheduled in Thonon, Évian, Publier, Allinges, Bons-en-Chablais, Sciez, Cervens, Veigy-Foncenex and also in neighboring Switzerland. It is organized by the Maison des Arts du Léman, with which Teatro Gioco Vita has had close relationships for years and which, among other things, co-produced the show Sonia and Alfredo in 2020.
The Festival programme also includes two performances for school of Le petit Roi des Fleurs (October 18) and two university workshops on shadow theatre by Fabrizio Montecchi (October 18 and 19, respectively in Evian and Thonon).