LE VOYAGEUR DEBOUT presents

Filomena in

Just good friends

Filomena in

Just good friends

A new, touchingly human, universally funny, theatrical clown, for adults and children aged six and upwards

THE STORY JUST GOOD FRIENDS - that fairy-tale of love inside us all? Two clowns as tender as Chaplin, as burlesque as Harold Lloyd, and as eloquent as Marcel Marceau, evoke the fond memories and simple joys of their every day life together. As Felix reminisces, it becomes clear that he hopes Filomena's feelings for him will one day be touched by a more romantic flame. For Filomena, blind to Felix's secret desire, she and her precious Felix are, and forever will be 'just good friends'. The tale begins 'behind the scenes' as the audience watches and listens whilst the actor slowly transforms himself and gives way to the clown inside him, Felix – so different from him and yet so close to him, Felix, the old friend of Filomena, under whose unbelievable silhouette and tender gaze the entire transformation takes place. Once the red nose is placed on the made-up face, the magic begins, and Felix tells the story of a friendship together that is like the unfolding of a delicate flower in a universal tale of unrequited love. With this highly original synthesis of classic American silent movie theatrics and the lyricism of French mime, the touching humanity of Felix and Filomena create a new chapter in the history and persona of the theatrical 'clown'.

CAST Filomena : Marie Emilie Nayrand Felix : Jean-Luc Bosc Director : Jean-Luc Bosc Lighting : Christophe Richard Translation : Martin Porter

Photos : Service Communication de Pierre-Bénite

WHAT THE PRESS SAID ABOUT 'JUST GOOD FRIENDS' “Through a highly original and touching fusion of the art of the silent movie, the art of mime and the art of innocent lyricism, this latest production from Le Voyageur Debout presents the story of two old friends, Felix and Filomena, and the simple poetry of the everyday lives they have spent together (...) The two characters are gorgeously funny, refreshingly human, and very well acted. This show will no doubt charm audiences of all ages.” Lyon Capital

“The grace of Felix and Filomena certainly wove its magic around the audience, taking them on a marvellous journey through a fairytale-like world, the likes of which makes us think that when you wish upon the stars then the most beautiful dreams really can come true (…) Combining the comic wit of Charlie Chaplin, the moving burlesque of Harold Lloyd and the poetic grace of Marcel Marceau, the story is as moving as it is funny, Marie-Emilie Nayrand and Jean-Luc Bosc, a perfect and adorable Laurel and Hardyesque duo, excite and seduce both young and old alike. They become true merchants of happiness.” The Alsace Journal

“Delicious! (…) Felix and Filomena are heart catchers who take the public by the hand without even seeming to touch them. Their clowns are irresistible, a perfection of the sort whose tenderness would melt the steeliest of hearts.” The Vaucluse Dauphin

“The two actors from The Voyageur Debout have developed a unique take on the character and theatrical tradition of the ‘clown’. There is no doubting that they are genuine ‘clowns’. But neither the humorous dimension, nor the delighted cries of the children in attendance, is allowed to obscure the other side of the burlesque; the side on which one finds pure emotion in all of its expressions (..) They manage to take this ‘troubling’ dimension of the characters and brush it across the scenes of the most banal everyday life with the vivacity and the intelligence of poets.” The Franche Comte Review

“Jean-Luc Bosc and Marie-Emilie Nayrand are the most tender and heart-melting clowns, each working in a delightful harmony on their own particular register. They use the language of simplicity as well as the best of the art of mime to underline the intensity and beauty of those small everyday, seemingly banal things. They are funny, poetic and very moving in the way in which they create situations in which this 'encounter' between Felix and Filomena is at the heart of all the emotions.” Latest News from Alsace

LE VOYAGEUR DEBOUT (‘THE STANDING TRAVELLER’) ORIGINS OF THE COMPANY Le Voyageur Debout (‘The Standing Traveller’) is a French professional theatre company, based in Lyon. Founded in 1996 by Jean-Luc Bosc, one of its principal actors as well as its Artist Director, two of its other principal actresses, Sandrine Gelin and Marie-Emilie Nayrand, have been part of the company since its inception and play a major role in the day-to-day running of the company.

PERFORMANCE HISTORY Le Voyageur Debout is a creative theatre production company as well as a touring theatre company, well-known and highly respected throughout France by the theatre-going public and theatre professionals alike. They are most widely known by the public through their stage performances. To this current season, (July 2011) the company has written, produced and performed 16 original pieces of theatre. They have performed these shows over 1240 times on tours which have taken in 257 towns across France. With an average of 82 stage performances per year since its inception 15 years ago, each one of Le Voyageur Debout’s highly original theatrical creations has been performed between 50 and 350 times on stages throughout the whole of France as well abroad. Each year Le Voyageur Debout takes one of their shows to the Festival of Avignon, where they perform everyday for the duration of the festival, attracting a public of all ages, including, as always, many prominent professionals. Being a permanent fixture at Avignon allows Le Voyageur Debout to continue to develop and enhance their creative talent and their increasing reputation both nationally and internationally. This season, 2011, Le Voyageur Debout bring their unique brand of clown acting to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. JUST GOOD FRIENDS, one of their most successful pieces (200 performances to date), starring their two most widely known and loved Chaplinesque characters, Felix and Filomena, will be performed in English at the Hill Street Theatre, every day of the festival from 5th August to 29th August, at 4pm. Le Voyageur Debout's highly original approach to theatrical creation was not learnt by attending any school, but through years of experimentation and experience. Hand in hand with the uniqueness and coherence of a deeply human sense of the persona of the clown, Le Voyageur Debout have created a considerable interest in and demand for the 'theatre improvisation' and 'clown' workshops which they run every year. Attended by professionals, theatre students and public alike from all over France, the increasing demand for performances of shows by Le Voyageur Debout means that there are now waiting lists for these workshops. Despite the professional demands on their time, their artistic vision and philosophy of theatre is such that Le Voyageur Debout remain determined to continue, every year, to make a large number of appearances and performances ‘off stage’ as it were, in schools, hospitals, prisons and social centres.

VISION AND ETHIC “As a company we see ourselves as and function like, an old fashioned theatre 'troupe'. As a result, whenever the piece we are creating necessitates it, we invite other actors and technicians to come and work alongside us. Once they work with us they too are considered part of ‘the family’ and usually end up performing with us throughout the entire length of a long tour.” “The character of the soul which drives our company is just as important as the quality of the characters on stage in the spectacles we offer and the acting techniques we use to create and present them. One value we consider to be an essential component of our status as artists and artisans is ensuring that we maintain a coherent balance between the humane and the artistic. We devote a great deal of care and attention to achieving this.” “Le Voyageur Debout aims to create a theatre which brings together, which invites, a theatre which is vindicated in its championing and reinforcing of its close links with the society of which it is so much a part.” “Every step we take towards our long term goals is rooted firmly in a coherent balance between the artistic and the human. That same balance of the artistic and the human also exists between the plays we perform on the stage and the animations, presentations, and pedagogic interventions which we make in the various social milieu around and off the stage.”

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS FOR JUST GOOD FRIENDS Just Good Friends can easily be adapted to the particularities of most venues. For more details on this telephone our Head Technician: Christophe Richard : + 33 (0) 6 62 07 71 86 Length of the show JUST GOOD FRIENDS: 1h05 Stage space for JUST GOOD FRIENDS: Breadth of Opening: 7 metres (minimum 5 metres) Depth 6 metres (minimum 4 metres) Height: 5 metres (minimum 3metres 50 cm) Black box. Lighting for JUST GOOD FRIENDS: 1 lighting consol of 12 circuits of 2 KW 13 bulbs of 1 KW 2 cycliodes (for lighting the public)

OTHER SHOWS CURRENTLY ON TOUR The Paper Boat, Dany Bar, Don Quixote, Domino, When I Grow Up.

CONTACT LE VOYAGEUR DEBOUT 1 cours d’Herbouville - 69004 LYON Contact : Martin Porter 00 33 (0)4 78 27 98 23 - 00 33 (0)6 01 79 72 90 Email : [email protected] For more information, image galleries, tour dates, workshops etc., and to download the brochures for each show, as well as our newsletters, please consult out website:

http://le.voyageur.debout.free.fr