Over the weekend, residents of Shawinigan, Quebec, Canada, witnessed a very eerie scene.
On their street, suddenly a group of bipedal walking "sheep" appeared...
A group of performers dressed in fluffy costumes and bells tied around their necks wandered around the city driven by a "shepherd".
They squeezed the essence of the sheep fiercely, and even the effect of the sheep's trembling ass when it walked was imitated in place.
(Schematic of a performance from a few years ago)
The next moment, the shepherd gathered the "sheep" into a sheepfold that had been set up in advance.
They sat stupidly on the lawn, sticking out their tongues from time to time and making "babble~beep~" sounds.
When the shepherds came and sheared them.
The "sheep" who had just looked sluggish and seemed to be trapped in a state of no-self suddenly lifted their stinking hooves and flew up and down.
They struggled fiercely as they roared from their throats.
A "bald" shaving makes the "sheep" loveless.
But the next second, the "sheep" forgot the shame they had just had and happily ate the vegetable leaves.
They swallow eagerly and snatch food from the audience.
If you say, "shearing sheep" and "feeding vegetable leaves" are still within the scope of the audience's imagination.
When the shepherds began to milk the "sheep", it was inevitable that people would doubt the mental state of the human beings.
Only to see the "sheep" looking around numbly, and the shepherd constantly pulling some kind of device between the legs of the "sheep", it was really ... Squeezed out... Milk.
And the milk is not acted, because the shepherd then puts the milked goat into the cup and distributes it to the audience to taste...
(I can really drink it)
However, at this time, the performance is still not over.
In the next scene, a new species, the "wolf", appears again.
The "wolf", dressed in a dark blue bodysuit, slashed the ground on all fours, quickly rushed into the flock, and hunted down one of them before the shepherds arrived.
The "sheep" who rubbed shoulders with death, the fat body lay on the ground, trembling.
After the introduction of the concept of life and death, this performance of suspected high-level sheep cosplay seems to have been sublimated a little.
The whole show lasted about half an hour in total.
The name of the performance is "Les moutons", which means sheep in French.
And this group of performers is not a performance artist.
They all come from a serious performance group in Toronto, Canada, Corpus.
David Danzon, the troupe's artistic director and co-founder, said: "We spent half an hour simulating the life of a sheep without any extra narration or commentary. ”
Many artistic performances, to some extent, convey some morality or satirize a certain social reality.
However, "Les moutons" does not have any additional significance.
The purpose of the show is rather simple and crude, to take the audience to experience how the flock spends their day.
Although the performances may seem curious, each actor is carefully selected.
They all have professional dance backgrounds, and they must pass the audition before each performance before they can officially join the "Sheep Universe".
Imitating a sheep may seem simple, but in fact every action and expression is carefully designed by the actors.
In addition to performances, performers often go to India or Japan to hold seminars, and work with different people to hone the performance movements, discuss the coordination of music, and how to improvise.
It can be said that dressed as sheep, they are more real.
In the eyes of many people, this performance looks very trendy. But in fact, this has a history.
As you might imagine, Corpus was founded as early as 1997 and is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.
(Some members of the dance company)
In the past few decades, this group of "sheep" has been seen in art festivals in Singapore, Australia and France.
They have been touring the world. By 2018, this classic "Les moutons" has been staged more than 700 times in more than 30 countries and regions.
Just four years ago, they came to Beijing, China, to perform.
It wasn't until the pandemic hit that their tour was forced to stop.
However, this group of actors who broke through the sky immediately moved the performance to the line.
They turned on the video conference, under the melodious BGM, and continued to graze at the screen, as well, to be eaten by wolves.
Not only that, but in December 2020, they also selected the most singing members of the cast, wore masks, and went to different places to sing Merry Christmas songs for people.
Many people have seen their performances and expressed their liking for this light-hearted and humorous form, while praising the actors' brilliant portrayal of sheep:
"I love this show."
"I've seen them perform! They're so much fun and so talented! Their thighs must be very strong. ”
"We should find another benefactor to bite their heels... Hahahahahahaha
"It looks so interesting, I want to join."
However, many netizens also complained about this behavior, which is legal but "sick":
"As a Canadian, I feel embarrassed."
"Stupid! Stupidity! Stupidity! It makes me laugh at this group of idiots to take their 'art' so seriously. They're just kids. ”
"Some people do whatever it takes to get attention. Because they want to be actors, they want to be noticed by the producers of Hollywood blockbusters. Then fish for money. ”
"How stupid can a person be?"
"Why is this all watched by the audience? I'd rather go seeing a real flock walk, that's definitely more interesting than this. ”
"If you count this sheep when you sleep, you will certainly not be able to sleep."
Perhaps at present, this kind of art is still too early for human beings.
However, the essence of human beings is duplicity.
Almost every time Corpus performed on the street, the attitude of the onlookers was: Strange, look again.
Children, in particular, can stand and watch them perform for hours.
In addition to attracting audiences, Corpus' acting philosophy has also conquered many professional actors.
Jolyane Langlois, who plays one of the sheep, said: "I was immediately drawn to its humor and absurdity. ”
There are also many actors from Germany and other regions, in order to join the performance, specially ran to Canada to settle.
Not only that, but in 2003, "Les moutons" was nominated for the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Choreography.
To some extent, it is also professionally recognized
And "Les Moutons" isn't Corpus's only show.
Previously, they also launched the program "SWAN LAKE SYNDROME". It is a portrait of the life of a dancer, describing the highs and lows of his career.
Female dancers in ballet costumes will randomly dance in the street and select passers-by to interact with them.
Sometimes she would teach the audience to dance the steps of the four little swans, and sometimes she would let strangers whip their butts with whips, and the performance continued Corpus's usual absurd style.
In another performance called "LE GRAND PEEP SHOW", they chose another pair of actors and actresses.
Both were dressed in tights and dressed like black bosses.
They do not rely on language to communicate throughout the process, but only use physical interaction, intending to show the complex relationships and entanglements between men and women.
The venue was set up in a white tent.
Spectators, on the other hand, stand outside their tents and watch the performance in the form of "voyeurism" through holes and crevices.
Last year, Corpus also designed a new pantomime performance, "La Bulle."
The actors will stand in a transparent sphere and connect with the audience through painting, writing, and dancing.
This time, the themes of the show have become loneliness, dreams and social distancing.
It can be seen that most of the performances from Corpus give people a feeling of "I don't understand, but I am shocked".
However, they have also had a lot of "normal" performances.
In the show "MACHINA NUPTIALIS", Corpus reinterpreted the wedding in its own unique style, combining fantasy and reality.
After nightfall, three couples of actors who play couples will dance in dresses under the crowd.
They will kiss each other and interact with the audience like a real wedding, with "happy wine".
However, in the later stages of the performance, they suddenly stretched their heads and limbs out of the props, changing the previous romantic atmosphere and restoring the original "hunting" style.
For now, Corpus has resumed touring and has traveled to seven different countries this year.
They will show these shows to more people.
It is said that in the remaining months of 2022, they will also travel to Germany, the United States and Japan for performances.
It is estimated that before long, people from other countries will be stunned by a group of "sheep people" who suddenly appear on the street.