I Can't Believe it's Not Butter + N·Ormes

La Chapelle Scènes Contemporaines, MONTRÉAL COMPLÈTEMENT CiRQUE and TOHU unite for the benefit of L’Autre Cirque, the one that celebrates the hybridization of genres, a mix that sometimes surprises, but always refreshes. Double feature I Can’t Believe It's Not Butter! is a four-person ten-minute performance centered around a dinner table dressed with food. At each end of the table different pairs depict alternate relationships articulated through movement.The dinner table is a sacred space where life, nourishment, and the continuation of connection between family and friends invite growth. Simultaneously, the dinner table portrays mindless tradition and is a reminder of thoughtless routine in its rigidity. A structure where short nice ties can bleed into nightmarishly longer silences.One of the pairs, performed by Joaquin Barral and Maël Trân, gushes over fresh produce and its colorful, curious textures in relation to human wonder and sociality. Fruit and its suggestion of life and prosperity lead to the bountiful discovery of intimacy between two bodies in a playful relationship as they cross from states of stillness to movement. While the other pair, underneath constant movement, blabbering, glammer, and routine, Hannah Grove and Merlin Matthewson uncover a compost heap of emptiness. A relationship between two disenchanted shells, who are physically seated at the same table, but miles apart in spirit, unfolds on stage. Movements between the two characters feel stilted and uncomfortably close in physicality, with an overabundance of body contact and repetitive dance inspired by stimming. Presented in English N.Ormes is a circus show where the duo Agathe and Adrien push the limits and expectations of their own bodies and gender norms. Provocative, dysfunctional and tender, the piece brings the viewer to question their own assumptions. The story features two protagonists and their relationship navigating between complicity and power struggles. Skilfully combining hand to hand, Icarian games and dance, the stage becomes an arena. One by one, the archetypes fall in battle, giving way to a quest for friendship and fairness through power and fluidity. With minimal scenography, the rich lighting of Claire Seyller and the costume creation of Sophie El-Assad, we follow their relationship through moments of frenzy and exhaustion. The original score by Simon Leoza takes us through the intimate and grandiose evolution of the protagonists. The exchange of roles and lifts, as a new language, blurs all our preconceptions. No text