Time of the Untamed

For the past ten years, the Théâtre Equestre Zingaro has been combining travelling cultures, in which it was born and proffer so much inspiration. Marked with the heritage of its imaginary ancestors, the Zingaro Tribe has little by little turned into a wandering people with ancestral cultures. With Chimère, the "Zingaros" are travelling back in time, guided by horses towards the shores of Hindu civilization, towards the desert plains of the Thar and the origins of a nomadic people.

Gorgeously shot in the wide-open Siberian wilderness this outdoor adventure chronicles the dramatic escape of a big-city bred violinist from a Siberian labor camp. Underlying the action is the tale of a man who learns to become one with his environment rather than trying to dominate it. The story begins as enigmatic, Asian tribesman Toli comforts the starved violinist Dimitri that they will be escaping soon. They get their chance when a beautiful herd of Yakut horses begin grazing placidly near where the two are toiling. Sneaking away from the others, they grab tow hand steeds and race off. Unfortunately, Toli is mortally wounded. Just before he dies, he tells Dimitri that he is a powerful shaman and then hands the fiddler a protective amulet. In this way, Toli becomes Dimitri's guardian spirit. The city youth will need all the help he can get as he and his horse must traverse the unforgiving wilds and keep away from guards, alone.

Based on Lord Byron's poem "Mazeppa" from 1819 and revolving around the painter Théodore Géticault, famous horse trainer and spectacle Bartabas takes art to another level.

In this show designed and choreographed by Bartabas and Ko Murobushi, the two artists share the stage with four horses and with the imaginary bestiary of French poet Comte de Lautréamont.