Spain

If you are looking for something different in theatre/performance you could try and see something by La Fura dels Baus.

La Fura dels Baus is one of the world's most electrifying performance companies. Their visually amazing productions have been seen worldwide. They are still probably best known for orchestrating the opening ceremony of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, though more recently they've been getting a lot of press for their forays into opera and other big scale events such as those on their ship "Naumon", a huge floating performing arts centre.

La Fura dels Baus is a company in a permanent process of transformation that, since it was founded in 1979, has approached new challenges in the field of the performing arts. Its occasional shows and events have had an enormous impact on both international critics and audiences. It would be no exaggeration to say that since Actions (1983), La Fura dels Baus can be considered as a cult group for its thousands of followers all over the world. La Fura has developed its own language, style and aesthetics over the years based on collective creation.

They are based in Barcelona but perform in many countries around the world. To find out more visit www.lafura.com.

All the World's a Stage!

With such a cosmopolitan atmosphere within our offices, we were sure that our international teams could recommend a host of theatrical experiences from around the world. Here are their suggestions.

Italy

NOVECENTO - Legend of the Ocean Pianist

After having read Alessandro Baricco's acclaimed and wonderfully poetic novel Silk, I was on the lookout for anything else by the same author, and so came across his Novecento.

Now, not everyone thinks READING plays is a good idea or an enjoyable experience, but this one I think might prove an exception. In fact, Baricco himself has said of his Novecento that it is "in-between a proper play and a story to be read aloud". And if neither of those appeal to you there is always the full-length feature film by Giuseppe Tornatore, La leggenda del pianista sull'oceano, even though that leaves rather less room for your own imagination...

If, like me, you happen to chance on an actual performance on stage, do go and see it. I was lucky enough to discover it in a small theatre in Paris (Théâtre de la Pepinière) a few years ago, and was utterly entranced by it. The atmosphere was magical, with the stage practically dark, the lights shining only on the narrator, with a live band providing the music.

Jean-François Balmer was grandiose in the role of the narrator, Max Tooney, Novecento's old trumpeter friend, who reminisces about the life of the legendary pianist. Balmer was in fact nominated for the award of "meilleur comédien" in this role in 2001. Just imagine: the actor has to keep the audience's attention for 90 minutes - with no-one else on the stage! Balmer was certainly up to this solo challenge: he exuded great charisma and stage presence, giving a truly rivetting performance narrating the story of the man who is found as an abandoned baby by the mechanic of a transatlantic liner heading for for America. As this is New Year's Day of the year 1900, the seamen call him Novecento (1900), and he grows up without ever setting foot on land, and hidden from the authorities. Discovering a passion and a huge talent for music, he teaches himself to play the piano without being able to read the notes. He soon becomes a virtuoso whose reputation spreads beyond the confines of the ship. With his playing, he moves everyone, be they the luxury guests in first-class or the poor travelling to America in the hope of finding a better life. Eventually, the famous pianist and inventor of jazz, Jelly Roll Morton, comes on board the ship to challenge this unlikely rival to a piano duel. This encounter provides plenty of tension, as do the final moments of the pianist, who remains on the ship as its last passenger, before the lights go out. A truly moving and sensuous experience and proof of the magical quality of theatre that does not rely on special effects but simply on a brilliantly sympathetic performance that engages the audience.

Teatro di Narrazione

Teatro di Narrazione (Narrative Theatre) is a style of theatre, developed in Italy in the later decades of the 20th century, in which there are no actors or action, but only a narrattore (a neologism for narrator-actor, or "narractor") who tells the story in narrative form.

During the show, the narrattore often sits on a chair without moving. There are no props or costumes, nor any lights beyond those necessary to let the audience see the narrattore: sometimes the theatre itself is lit so that the narrattore can see the faces of the audience to address them directly.

The genre is generally said to have begun with Mistero Buffo (Comic Mystery) by Dario Fo in 1969, though Fo has traditionally used mime to physicalize the actions and the entire cast of characters when performing in this style.This influenced two generations of narrattori, notably Marco Paolini, Marco Baliani and Laura Curino; and later Ascanio Celestini and Davide Enia.

Although Mistero Buffo reworked medieval stories, the teatro di narrazione has a particular focus on investigating the "dark holes" of Italian modern history. Corpo di stato by Baliani concerns the murder of Aldo Moro by the Red Brigades in 1978; Curino's Olivetti concerns Camillo and Adriano Olivetti, founders of the Olivetti business empire; Paolini's Il racconto del Vajont the tragedy of the Vajont Dam disaster; Enia's Maggio '43 the Allied bombing of Palermo during the Allied invasion of Sicily in World War II; and Celestini's Radio Clandestina and Scemo di guerra the Nazi-Fascist occupation of Rome and its subsequent American liberation.

Norway

Tor Åge Bringsværd has been my favourite author and playwright for years. Because of this man I've happily entered the stage dressed as a goat, a tentacled priest, a middle-aged Alice in Wonderland, and many other characters. He spins myths and folk tales and pure imagination together in stories that fascinate. I think the most memorable highlight I've seen on stage is the Great Love Scene in one of his plays for children. The princess and the polar bear have found each other and are looking forward to their "happily ever after", they're prancing in a meadow of flowers, everything is so fairytale sweet you can hardly believe it, and they burst into the great love song, entitled: "We could be worse off than we are now." Now, that's some Valentine's serenade!

Worldwide

Cirque du Soleil (French for "Circus of the Sun") was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul in 1984 by two former street performers, Guy Laliberté and Daniel Gauthier. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Cirque expanded rapidly, developing from one show with 73 employees in 1984 to currently 3,500 employees from over 40 countries doing fifteen shows touring every continent. It is estimated that in excess of 70 million people around the world have experienced Cirque. Cirque's creations have been awarded numerous prizes and distinctions, including Bambi, Rose d'Or, three Gemini Awards and four Primetime Emmy Awards.

Cirque's most recent triumphs include Varekai, an inspired incantation which transports viewers into an extraordinary world where anything is possible. Varekai pays tribute to the nomadic soul, to the spirit and art of the circus tradition, and to the infinite passion of those whose quest takes them along the path that leads to this mysterious world. Delirium, meanwhile, is a live multimedia experience featuring an international cast of 8 musicians, 11 dancers, 6 singers, 8 acrobats and 3 actors all occupying the stage at the same time in a show where melodies, musicians and singers are the driving force.

Visit www.cirquedusoleil.com for more.