PHOTOS: France's Cirque Inextremiste brings the heat to Artpark

The absurd acrobatics of France’s Cirque Inextremiste were on full display Sunday night, as the troupe brought “Exit” to Artpark in Lewiston.

A rag-tag group of misfits burst onto the basket of a hot-air balloon during a tethered ride, knocking the skies (and themselves) off balance. The clownish, tightrope-walking, quirky, fiery, spectacular and utterly remarkable performance was the brainchild of Yann Ecauvre, as brought to life by a dozen performers – some taking to the skies – on a piano – or hanging from the anchor ropes.

“Exit” was staged in Artpark’s parking Lot D (South Fourth Street side). A large audience rimmed the perimeter, watching – and laughing – as the show unfolded. Fortunately, no one was injured by the banana gun.

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The venue stated, “In ‘Exit,’ a group of sweet lunatics find themselves trapped in spite of themselves in a life-size epic. Their mission: To free themselves from their straightjackets and escape at all costs from this world governed by strict and implacable rules. The play area, transformed by the flight of the hot-air balloon, is an open-air theater where the artists’ aerial waterfalls coexist with the stars. With a crescendo toward freedom, ‘Exit’ offers an emancipation of the mind, a powerful, luminous and unifying artistic breath, a demonstration of the porosity of the border between art and madness.”

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Cirque Inextremiste has traveled from theaters to festivals across Europe since 2007. It now has eight shows and around 50 members.

Ecauvre, with an atypical and self-taught career, staged his first show in 2007, titled "Inextremiste," set around a trampoline and gas cylinders. In 2009, the company took the name Cirque Inextremiste. The "Extrêmités" trio was created in 2012, with boards and gas cylinders as accessories! The second part, called "Extension," was born in 2014.

Between 2015 and 2017, the Cirque Inextremiste team grew to create two new shows: a spectacular "Extreme Night Fever" ball and a large-scale street show around a hot-air balloon "Exit." (Photos by Joshua Maloni)

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