Peeping Tom: A Rare Opportunity to Peek into a Terrifying World

Since the early 2000s, the Peeping Tom dance company has been blending and bending genres in an offbeat universe. The Flemish troupe is bringing its Triptych to Montreal, where it will perform for four nights only at Place des Arts, as part of the Danse Danse program.

The Belgian company has been destabilizing audiences, keeping them in suspense, and gradually erasing the boundaries between dance, theatre, and film. Its two co-founders, Argentinian Gabriela Carrizo and Frenchman Franck Chartier, are directing this show, which was created in three stages between 2013 and 2017 in collaboration with the Nederlands Dans Theater.

The story plunges its characters into environments from which they cannot escape, facing forces that see them caught between humour, the imaginary, and terror. The audience witnesses their inner struggle, where real memories and illusions intertwine, accompanied by distressing sound effects.

Three Scenes, Three Enclosed Spaces

Taking the form of a trilogy, Triptych features a different scenographic world for each of the three claustrophobic scenes it comprises—with each representing different places on a boat. The first piece, The Missing Door, depicts a living room with many doors that refuse to open. The second, The Lost Room, is set in a cabin. And finally, The Hidden Floor happens in an abandoned restaurant that is taking on water.

The first scene takes place before a person’s death, with the artists on stage illustrating what is going on in the victim’s head. Through figurative body language, the action illustrates the trauma of a couple going through a separation. A harrowing, crackling soundtrack supports the story, adding to the tension being played out on the boards.

The Lost Room then takes the dancers into a more physical performance on the theme of unhealthy desire, with contortions and jolts punctuating this segment.

The third and final enclosed space immerses the audience in a strange atmosphere, where multiple illusions and tricks abound, with the dancers making the most of their flexibility to represent dislocated bodies.

Spanning Various Art Forms

The show is inspired by cinema, with set changes taking place like those on a film soundstage. It adopts the codes of the horror film, in settings from which there is no way out, where doors never seem to function as exits. The story features characters struggling against themselves at times, as well as against other elements—a rag that slips from a servant’s hands or a jacket that stays stuck to an arm.

The body language distances itself from traditional dance and is choreographed in a more theatrical manner. The team, almost silent throughout the performance, expresses itself only through shouts or sounds, combining masterful movements with dramatic art.

The disturbing atmosphere, blending humour and the macabre, allows audience members to interpret the narrative in their own way. The two-hour show is being presented by Danse Danse, a promoter associated with Place des Arts, from April 16 to 19 in Théâtre Maisonneuve.