2026-2027 Cultural Season of the Karavan Theatre – Chassieu

From 26 september 2026 at 16:00 to 28 may 2027 at 20:00

From September 26, 2026 to May 28, 2027, the Karavan theatre in Chassieu, in the Rhône region, unveils a particularly eclectic 2026-2027 cultural season. Theatre, music, dance, comedy, film concerts, digital arts, sensory shows and sporting performances are all featured, with several events of particular interest to fans of circus, juggling, acrobatics, magic, mime and physical theatre.

The season includes around twenty professional offerings and is aimed at a wide range of audiences, from toddlers to adults. It begins on Saturday, September 26, 2026 with a free opening event featuring Coming! and concludes on Friday, May 28, 2027 with comedian Roman Doduik.

🎪 A season to watch for circus and juggling fans

Several shows have direct links with circus arts. These include musical juggling with the Colle Brothers, trampoline acrobatics with the Racines Carrées Company, magic and mentalism with the Compagnie du Faro, as well as various forms situated at the border of dance, mime, manipulation, physical performance and gesture arts.

🤹 Drum Brothers – The Colle Brothers: musical juggling and humor

On Friday, October 9, 2026 at 8 p.m., the Colle Brothers present Drum Brothers, a family performance of musical juggling that is as virtuosic as it is offbeat.

Stéphane, Cyril, and Clément Colle have created a show in which music, rhythm, juggling, and humor constantly interact. Everything becomes an excuse to produce sounds and create situations: bass drum, snare drum, bagpipes, flute, and guitar join the party while objects begin to fly.

And it's not just percussion sticks: skittles and umbrellas also fly between the three artists. The rhythms accelerate, objects circulate, and each of the brothers seems to maintain his own relationship to tempo: one sets the time, another arrives on time, while the third moves off-beat.

Directed by Éric Bouvron, Drum Brothers blends juggling, percussion, music, poetry and comedy in a proposition that is difficult to confine to a single discipline.

⏱️ Duration: 1 hour 10 minutes
👨‍👩‍👧 Suitable for ages 6 and up
🎟️ Category B

🤸 It's a blast – Hip-hop, acrobatics and trampoline

Another highlight, particularly circus-related: Ça déménage, by Compagnie Racines Carrées, presented on Friday, December 11, 2026 at 8 p.m.

On stage: five hip-hop dancers, a multitude of cardboard boxes, and a trampoline. From these few elements, the company transforms a move into a choreographic and acrobatic testing ground.

The artists leap and bound, play with the cardboard boxes, find their balance in the air, and gradually give the impression of defying gravity. The boxes themselves become dance partners and accomplices in the performers' movements.

Hip-hop dance thus directly intersects with acrobatics and trampoline work. Virtuosity, synchronization, humor, and poetry accompany this exploration of flight and balance.

The choreography and staging are by Nabil Ouelhadj, who also performs in the piece alongside Valentin Loval, Andy Andrianasolo, Abderrahim Ouabou and Nicolas Tabary.

⏱️ Duration: 1 hour
👨‍👩‍👧 Suitable for ages 6 and up
🎟️ Category C

🪄 Variable Geometry – Magic, Mentalism and Manipulation

On Friday, February 5, 2027 at 8 p.m., a change of pace with Variable Geometry from the Compagnie du Faro.

Magician Matthieu Villatelle uses the tools of magic and mentalism to explore the mechanisms of information manipulation and fake news.

How can we make something appear true? How can we orient our perception? And to what extent can we influence our way of thinking?

The show draws a parallel between the techniques used by mentalists and those of digital giants. Deceptions, tricks, and magical phenomena disrupt the viewer's certainties and challenge their critical thinking.

At the crossroads of theatre, magic and mentalism, Variable Geometry therefore uses illusion not only to amaze, but also as a tool to reflect on our perception of reality.

⏱️ Duration: 1 hour 15 minutes
👨‍👩‍👧 Ages 10 and up
🎟️ Category B

🎭 Coming! – Hip-hop dance, mime, and movement arts

The season begins on Saturday, September 26, 2026 at 4 p.m. with Coming!, by Compagnie De Fakto.

A man arrives with a bouquet of flowers and waits for a woman. To the songs of Jacques Brel, a story gradually unfolds, evoking love, but also old age and death.

Created by choreographer Aurélien Kairo and now performed by dancer Lucas Joyerot, this solo blends hip-hop dance, mime, and movement arts. The performer navigates a world where references to Buster Keaton and Fred Astaire mingle with the codes of urban dance.

This performance marks the official opening of the cultural season. It will be followed by refreshments and an opportunity for the public to discover the various cultural events offered in Chassieu.

⏱️ Duration: 35 minutes
👨‍👩‍👧 Suitable for ages 6 and up
🎟️ Free

🕊️ Flight – Giant birds in the streets of Chassieu

On Tuesday, December 8, 2026, from 6 p.m., the Compagnie Rue du Regain will take over the public space with Envol, a free ambulatory show offered as part of "December in Lights".

Large, brightly colored birds, perched on the ends of canes, dance and flutter above the spectators. Sometimes far away, sometimes very close to the audience, these aerial creatures invite young and old to look up and imagine their own flight.

The walk will start from the Cure car park and end at Coponat Square.

📅 Tuesday, December 8, 2026, starting at 6 p.m.
👨‍👩‍👧 Suitable for all audiences
🎟️ Free
📍 Off-site performance

⚽ Joga Bonito – Hip-hop and freestyle football

On Friday, May 14, 2027 at 8 p.m., Joga Bonito will bring together hip-hop dance and freestyle football on the same stage.

Choreographer Moncef Zebiri transforms the stage into a playground to explore what brings the dancer closer to the athlete: technical mastery, effort, physical commitment, virtuoso gestures, collective spirit, relationship with the public and the pursuit of performance.

The title means "the beautiful game." In this creation, the line between choreography and athletic performance is intentionally blurred. Football movements meet those of hip-hop, creating a shared language centered on the beauty of movement.

The cast includes several hip-hop dancers as well as freestyler Lubin Loquais. The production is presented by Le BLOCK – Centre Chorégraphique National de Rillieux-la-Pape.

⏱️ Duration: 50 minutes
👨‍👩‍👧 Ages 9 and up
🎟️ Category C

🎬 Leaving One's Rock – Cinematic performance, manipulation and digital arts

On Wednesday, October 21 at 2:30 p.m. and Thursday, October 22, 2026 at 11 a.m., Quitter son caillou explores another form of manipulation, this time around the image and digital tools.

A writer, a dancer, a singer, a farmer and an astronaut share the events that have shaped their lives and the obstacles they have faced in pursuing their dreams.

Words, images and sounds are created directly on stage. Élie Blanchard is notably responsible for the scenography, visual creation, illustration, manipulation, animation and augmented reality.

A workshop, "Our Pebbles," complements the performances on Wednesday, October 21st at 10:30 am and Thursday, October 22nd at 2:00 pm. Adults and children will use a digital device to create their own short animated film. The workshop is designed for adult-child pairs and is open to children aged 8 and up; it is free with registration and reserved for those attending the performance.

⏱️ Show: 50 minutes
👨‍👩‍👧 Ages 8 and up

🎭 Theatre, music, comedy and other discoveries

The season is obviously not limited to circus arts and physical theatre.

On October 16th, a Chaplin duo film concert will feature The Vagabond and A Night in the Show, two Charlie Chaplin films accompanied live by Gilles Alonzo on piano and Alexandra Jouannié on violin. This family-friendly screening recreates the atmosphere of early 20th-century film screenings.

Theater also plays a significant role. "It's Not Easy to Be Happy When You're Bad," scheduled for November 13th, delves into the contradictions and existential questions of five thirty-somethings with a healthy dose of sarcasm and cynicism. The play received two Molière Awards in 2024.

On November 27, Changer l'eau des fleurs adapts Valérie Perrin's novel for the stage and tells the story of Violette Toussaint, a cemetery caretaker in a small town in Burgundy.

Singer Jeanne Cherhal will take to the stage on December 3rd, accompanied by four musicians.

After the holidays, Barbara from theatre to theatre, on January 8, 2027, will offer a musical journey through the life and work of Barbara.

On January 22nd, "The Trial of a Lifetime" will revisit the Bobigny trial and the fight led by Gisèle Halimi, among others. The play received three Molière Awards in 2026.

On February 12, the Skokiaan Brass Band will bring to the Karavan the energy of New Orleans brass bands, mixed with funk, soul, jazz, Caribbean and African influences.

On March 5th, the Compagnie Thespis will revisit The Iliad by imagining the Trojan War in the form of an American football game. Theatre, mythology, popular culture and sport meet there.

On March 12, Flavia Coelho, accompanied on piano by Victor Vagh-Weinmann, will offer a musical journey between Brazil and France.

On April 8, Compagnie Cassandre will present The Art of Always Being Right, a parody lecture imagining two scientists capable of teaching the public how to win any election.

On April 15th, toddlers can discover UMI, by Compagnie Lilaho. Under a dome where colorful drawings are projected, children and adults are immersed in an aquatic world combining digital interaction, clarinets, ukuleles, keyboard, and vocals. Two performances are offered at 11:00 AM and 3:30 PM. The show lasts 30 minutes and is suitable for children aged 1 and up.

Finally, after Joga Bonito, the professional season will end on May 28 at 8 p.m. with the new show by comedian Roman Doduik.

🎓 School shows and cultural activities

The Karavan theatre also develops an important artistic and cultural education policy, in collaboration in particular with the Media Library-Toy Library and the Conservatory of Music and Dance of Chassieu.

Programs are organized for school groups, theatre options in high schools, and animation professionals.

Among the school shows is Dans les nuages (In the Clouds), presented in January by the Compagnie Rêve de Singe. A dancer and a musician bring to life, through movement and sound, a fable about a character with "his head in the clouds".

In November, Compagnie Les Vibrantes also presents The Journey of Gomasio, a show for very young audiences in which three artists recount the first moments of Gomasio's life. Voices, moving bodies, dancing objects, and soundscapes accompany the story.

The Iliad in March and Joga Bonito in May are also among the shows offered as part of the school program.

🎨 The Karavan, a place of artistic creation

The Karavan theatre is also presented as a resource center for creation. Companies can notably benefit from a 10 x 10 meter stage, rehearsal spaces and the Costume Workshop.

In 2026, the La Poursuite collective's territorial residency continues. The collective is unique in that it travels exclusively using soft mobility (non-motorized transport).

The venue also hosts activities related to sewing, embroidery, drawing, painting, bookbinding and patchwork.

From April 28 to June 25, 2027, a participatory exhibition entitled Symbolism of the living will give carte blanche to the artists of Chassieu and the students of the Sewing Workshop around the theme of the animal bestiary.

📅 The main events of the season

September 26, 2026 at 4 p.m. – Coming! – hip-hop dance, mime, and movement art – free

October 9 at 8 p.m. – Drum Brothers – musical juggling and humor

October 16 at 8 p.m. – Chaplin duo film concert

October 21 at 2:30 p.m. and October 22 at 11 a.m. – Leaving One's Pebble – film performance and digital arts

November 13 at 8 p.m. – It's not easy to be happy when you're feeling down

November 27 at 8 p.m. – Changing the flower water

December 3rd at 8pm – Jeanne Cherhal

December 8th from 6pm – Flight – free street performance

December 11 at 8 p.m. – It's a blast – hip-hop, acrobatics and trampoline

January 8, 2027 at 8 p.m. – Barbara from theatre to theatre

January 22 at 8 p.m. – The trial of a lifetime

February 5 at 8 p.m. – Variable Geometry – theatre, magic and mentalism

February 12 at 8 p.m. – Skoki Mama Tour

March 5 at 8 p.m. – The Iliad

March 12 at 8 p.m. – Flavia Coelho

April 8 at 8 p.m. – The Art of Always Being Right

April 15 at 11:00 AM and 3:30 PM – UMI

May 14 at 8 p.m. – Joga Bonito – hip-hop and freestyle football

May 28 at 8 p.m. – Roman Doduik

🎪 For circus and juggling enthusiasts, the must-see events are Drum Brothers and their musical juggling, Ça déménage for their acrobatics and trampoline work, Géométrie variable for magic and mentalism, Coming! for mime and physical theatre, and Joga Bonito for their work in freestyle and physical performance. Envol and Quitter son caillou round out this selection with visual, ambulatory, and manipulative acts.

• Brochure officielle complète de la saison 2026-2027
• Site du Karavan théâtre
• Source complémentaire officielle – Quitter son caillou

2026-2027 Cultural Season of the Karavan Theatre in Chassieu