Cirque Le Roux

Entre Chiens et Louves

Cirque Le Roux is a French circus company founded in 2014 in the Nouvelle Aquitaine region of France. Its high-voltage performances, imbued with a cinematic, meticulously crafted aesthetic, abound with a tragicomic, dreamlike atmosphere.

Cirque Le Roux strives to create captivating, original worlds that are imbued with personal meaning and draw on a variety of artistic influences. They draw on the diversity and variety of the human condition. The artists' rigorous circus training allows them to push physical boundaries and use acrobatic disciplines as a vehicle to further develop their dramaturgy. Their works come to life in poignant theatrical gems that evoke emotion and challenge our connections and trust in ourselves and others.

In 2015, the four co-founders (Lolita Costet-Antunes, Grégory Arsenal, Philip Rosenberg and Yannick Thomas) created Elephant in the Room, an exciting and deliciously retro circus comedy that has been performed over 400 times worldwide in the last four years. The show played to sold-out houses at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where it was nominated for the Total Theatre Award (2015). Approximately 50,000 people attended the performance at the Bobin in Paris and the company received the Étoile du Parisien award in 2017.

In 2019, Cirque Le Roux accepted the challenge to create a new work, another extraordinary "cinema circus", Deer in the Headlights, nominated for the 2020 Molière Award for Best Visual Creation. The show continues to strive for artistic excellence on all levels (acting, acrobatic technique, combination of disciplines, set design, costumes, etc.) It can be seen as a continuation of the first piece (Elephant in the Room) but set in a time 35 years later.

Both above-mentioned productions could be seen at Letní Letná in the past years. Elephant in the Room played in 2016 and Deer in the Headlights in 2021. You can see highlights from them by clicking on the names above.

"Entre Chiens et Louves plunges the viewer into a historical universe with a flavour of dream and humour, where eight virtuosos defy the laws of gravity." Franceinfo: Culture

"In a theatrical and cinematic atmosphere, eight circus artists rewrite the stories of couples through high-level aesthetic acrobatics." Télégrama

"Cirque Le Roux has found the perfect setting for a spectacular show. The evening is amazing in every way and the performers are extremely talented. On opening night, the audience was blown away and gave an enthusiastic standing ovation. A huge BRAVO!" Laplumdupaon

"Cirque Le Roux's acrobatic feats become the language of theatre." Elephant in Room, Hospodářské noviny 2016, M. Čechlovská, full review here.

"The acrobats of Cirque Le Roux perform the most demanding elements of their art with astonishing ease, dance-like grace, a sense of rhythm and gradation of each situation and the whole performance. They are perfectly in sync and their actions have tenderness and roughness, poetry and charm." Deer in the Headlights, Novinky 2021, R. Hrdinová, full review here.

"What's amazing about Cirque Le Roux is the combination of theatre and acrobatics. The two components are so perfectly conceived and balanced that if they were separated, they would stand on their own as separate performances." Deer in the Headlights, Kulturio 2021, Sonia Hanušová, full review here.

Interview with Cirque Le Roux with Hana Strejčková published on Opera plus in 2021 here.

Lolita Costet-Antunes, Yannick Thomas, Grégory Arsenal and Philip Rosenberg

Interpreters: Mathilde Jimenez, Maude Parent, Clémence Gilbert, Yannick Thomas, Grégory Arsenal, Philip Rosenberg, Andrei Anissimov, Tristan Nielsen.

Music: Alexandra Stréliski

Costume design: Cirque Le Roux & Clarisse Baudinière

Lighting design: Pierre Berneron

Sound design: Jean-Marie Canoville

Set design: Cirque Le Roux and Benoit Art&Oh

Choreography: Maria Carolina Vieira

Producer: Juliette Grandmottet

Administration: Léa de Truchis

Directed by Nina Quitté