Director's Note:
What is the meaning of life?
This deep philosophical question has become a cliche. As a human, it’s deeply unsettling to think about. We can go our entire lives without ever feeling like we ‘found’ it- our magnum opus. The story of Pippin battles with that idea, while being a comedic, visually stunning spectacle of a show.
The 2013 revival created an association of circe elements within the storytelling of Pippin. While I didn’t want to erase that idea completely, we opted to lean more into a ‘toybox’ theme. To me, this was such a fun aesthetic to play with visually and storytelling, while also helping our issue of lack of circus performers. My personal favorite change is how all of Charlemagne’s army appear as toy soldiers. It was daunting, but after seeing the concept fully realized, I just love how much fantasy it adds to an already obscure show. We got to discover through the aspect of ‘play’, and had such a blast.
Pippin does it all. War, sex, politics, all extremes of ideas that we explore throughout our lives. He- spoiler- finds fulfillment in none. When he is forced to reflect on all the life he’s lived, his conclusion is what he was told by everyone his entire life. Something that we all need to be reminded of.
What is the meaning of life? What’s our purpose? There will never be just one answer. However there is one thing we all experience- the ordinary. A singular great accomplishment is not even a percentage of our lives, it’s the everyday that we live. I hope our show can create a sense of peace and fulfillment within your ordinary. You are, and always will be, enough.
“For there’s one thing to be sure of, mate. There’s nothing to be sure of.”
