Guillaume Pigé (Theatre Re)

Theatre Re is currently touring their brand new season of shows across the UK and China until the 15th October this year. We had a chat with Founder, Artistic Director and Lead producer, Guillaume Pigé, about the ethos of Theatre Re and the kinds of work that the team produces.

Q) Hello - before we begin, can you introduce yourself and tell us a little bit more about your work with Theatre Re?

Hello everyone! Thanks so much for having me. My name is Guillaume Pigé and I am the Founder, Artistic Director and lead Producer with Theatre Re - an artist-led theatre company bringing original live music with striking visual performance to create world class, deeply moving non-verbal productions about universal human challenges and the fragility of life.

Q) Why does the company use Physical Theatre to tell stories? What's the ethos behind this?

All of the company’s work originates and is the continuation of a theatre tradition known as ‘Corporeal Mime’. It is about the making the portrait of something - an idea, an emotion, a state of mind… with something else - the body. In that world, the actor is at the centre of theatre. In order to communicate, the actor must use everything that is at their disposal to communicate without having to rely on anyone else like a playwright for instance. With that in mind, the body, movement, space and rhythm are amongst the first tools that the actor can use to express themselves. So it’s not that we are ‘using physical theatre to tell stories’ but we are focusing on the actor’s language to build and share our stories. In that sense the ‘tool’ that we are using almost dictates the kind of work that we are making.

Q) How does the company work in collaboration with community groups and experts in different fields of expertise?

At first there is always an element of us learning or discovering something new. We ask a lot of questions and we try to be as curious as possible. We then allow these initial conversations to have an impact on the work. This could be by using some of what we have discovered to generate physical tasks for instance. Or sometimes the experts we collaborate with lead specific workshops for the company based on their practice. It really depends on what is it they do, what we need and the best way to share that with creative team. We then keep in close contact with everyone and invite them regularly to come and see the work at various stages. Their feedback becomes instrumental in guiding the development of the work and the choices we make. It ensures relevance and almost legitimise the work in a way - especially if some of the experiences that we deal with in the pieces are not directly linked to our own.

Q) What is at the heart of the new season of shows? Is there a theme?

2025 is a special year for us because for the first time we are touring all our existing repertoire. We have four shows on the road! Bluebelle will be at The Crucible in Sheffield on June 11th and 12th. The Nature of Forgetting will be at the Edinburgh Fringe/Pleasance Grand from Aug 9th to 23rd before touring in the UK (Warwick Arts Centre) and internationally (China) in the Autumn. Moments will be going to Oxford at The North Wall and Cardiff at RWCMD in the Autumn as well. Finally, BIRTH will finish it’s UK tour in Aberystwyth Arts Centre on Oct 14th and 15th. Maybe our theme this year is touring and sharing! We are hoping to start making a new larger piece in 2026… More to be announced in the coming months.

Q) How does Theatre Re’s devising/development process work when creating a new show?

We tend to start with a question. Something that we don’t have the answer to. We then gather a team of collaborators around that questions and together we respond to that original stimuli. The Nature of Forgetting started with what is eternal. Birth started with when does memory begins. Bluebelle started with why live theatre and Moments with why do we do what we do. The way we respond is very open and encompasses a wide range techniques, art forms and theatre traditions. The whole process is always guided by a sense of play and the joy we find in it.

Q) The shows seem to focus on the most raw parts of human experience- why is this?

I guess this is linked to your previous question about ‘physical theatre’ and the way we work. Because we use movement, rhythm and space to discover and write our pieces, the material that we tend to uncover always connect with people in a deep, intuitive and unconscious way.

Q) Why is emotion and empathy at the heart of the company’s storytelling?

It is at the heart of what we do because I deeply believe that our job as Theatre Makers is to bring people together. We bring people together when we make work and when we share work. That coming together goes through the reminding that we are all the same. We are all humans with the same desires, fear, longing for love and hope. We also all want to believe in the magic of ‘Once upon a time…’

Q) Why do you think audiences should watch particularly emotionally evocative shows? Why should audiences come along to a Theatre Re production?

Our work is important because it creates a space where we can replay and appreciate key life moments in a way that you cannot in life. I hope for this to be cathartic, joyful and thought-provoking. If people can leave the theatre with a tear in the eye and a big smile on their face, then I think we have done the job I also truly believe that our work is unique and just for that it’s worth a try.

Photography by Pamela Raith, Chris Nash and Beijing Performance Arts Centre