From June 13 to September 13, 2015, Tourrette-Levens hosts its traditional summer exhibition, Marionnettes Circus. This town, a true open-air museum, welcomes a summer artistic event aimed at families. In 2014, visitors could discover the exhibition “The Magicians, Masters of Mystery.” This year, puppets are at the forefront within the cultural space, in the heart of the village.
This exhibition “Marionnettes Circus” will feature around thirty characters from the circus world in circus settings: magicians, clowns, trapeze artists, etc. It also includes a show “The Puppets Put on Their Circus!” created by puppeteer, scenographer, and decorator Loic Bettini, who presents, in a ring setting, circus puppet acts and poetic performances, accompanied by traditional circus music and poems. Loïc Bettini brings his string puppets to life, his gestures granting them freedom of movement that fills the space with music that matches their personalities. The makeup and costumes are designed to highlight the characteristics of each character.
For him, “this puppet show exhibition with string puppets was born from a desire to combine my passion for theater and circus. I have been making my puppets, masks, and costumes for 25 years, handling the direction, sets, music selection, and performance. Puppetry allows for the ultimate poetic expression, giving soul and life to an object. This medium cultivates a relationship with the audience who come to dream, to be entertained, and to embark on a playful journey. The circus world for puppets allows me to enhance the visual aspect for this colorful show and multiply the characters in a playful, funny, and poetic game. This mix of puppetry, circus, and poetry allows for the birth or rediscovery of the sense of childhood that everyone carries within.”
