Eine Person in kariertem Hemd, Jeansshorts und schwarzen Stiefeln liegt quer über einem großen Steinblock in einem Steinbruch – ein runder Felsbrocken drückt von oben auf ihren Rücken.

Internationales Sommerfestival 2026

Theatre

Vimala Pons

Honda Romance

This piece is a theatrical extravaganza disguised as an art performance, created by and starring French film and theater star Vimala Pons.

Tickets:

9-40 euros (50% conq. with Festivalkarte)

Info

Triggers: smoke, loud noises, emotional topics, violence, and sexual content

Dates

German Premiere

Wednesday

8/19/26

8:00 PM

75 Min.

Tickets

Thursday

8/20/26

7:00 PM

75 Min.

Audience talk afterwards

Tickets

Friday

8/21/26

7:00 PM

75 Min.

Tickets

Instagram

INTERVIEW WITH VIMALA PONS (FR/EN)

GALLERY ARTIST PAGE

Vimala Pons is a multimedia- and performance artist, and French acting star: in 2026, she won a César Award for her role in “The Ties That Bind Us”, and her latest theater performance, HONDA ROMANCE, played to sold-out audiences for weeks at the Odéon Théâtre de l’Europe in Paris. With this production for the big stage, the French actress—born in India in 1983—is now coming to Hamburg for the first time, demonstrating what it means to navigate 300 different emotional states in 75 minutes. HONDA ROMANCE consists of three parts, in which Vimala Pons first balances a giant satellite on her head, only to be tossed back and forth between air cannons in a tour de force with the resilience of a karate fighter (which she also is). The evening concludes with a grand catwalk choreography of 150 distinct movements for nine singers (music: Rebeka Warrior) — thus once again capturing an impressive image of the evening’s theme: the human being in search of (emotional) balance, who stubbornly defies all adversity and tries again and again to get back up, on stage just as in life.

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With: Vimala Pons

WITH Sabianka Bencsik, Joseph Decange, Elsa Thébault, François Gardeil, Myriam Jarmache, Flor Paichard, Vimala Pons, Firoozeh Raeesdana, Neige Requier, Léa Trommenschlager CONCEPTION, TEXT AND DIRECTION Vimala Pons COLLABORATION CONCEPTION AND DIRECTION, MUSIC COMPOSITION Tsirihaka Harrivel EXPOSURE CLUSTER Tsirihaka Harrivel ‘HONDA ROMANCES AMBIENT’ DMRA Tsirihaka Harrivel ‘SATELITE ISLAND’ Tsirihaka Harrivel ‘CLUSTER DU DÉPART‘ Tsirihaka Harrivel ‘INCENDIE RÉCENT‘ THEMA FÜR KANONEN Tsirihaka Harrivel ‘REMEMBER TODAY’ ROMANZE FÜR NEUN SÄNGER*INNEN Rebeka Warrior ‘AN OUVERTURE’ UND ‘HOPE’ ACAPELLA PART Fiona Monbet MUSIC MIX Victor Praud SCENOGRAPHIC RESEARCH Benjamin Bertrand, Marion Flament, Vimala Pons SET DESIGN CONSULTING Marion Flament CONSTRUCTION OF THE SATELLITE Charlotte Wallet ASSISTANCE Nino Podalydès TECHNICAL DIRECTION Benjamin Bertrand, Marc Chevillon LIGHT AND VIDEO DESIGN Arnaud Pierrel SOUND DESIGN Anaëlle Marsollier COSTUME DESIGN Marie La Rocca COSTUME ASSISTANCE Anne Tesson MITARBEIT PRODUCTION AND ARTISTIC COORDINATION Émeline Hervé CHOIR ARRANGEMENT Fiona Monbet DESIGN SOUFFLEURE François Philippi MASKS AND SFX PROSTHESES Ateliers 69

PRODUCTION AND TOURNÉE TOUT ÇA / QUE ÇA und Comédie de Genèv PRE-PRODUCTION TOUT ÇA / QUE ÇA Adeline Ferrante ADMINISTRATION FOR THE TOUR TOUT ÇA / QUE ÇA Mathieu Hilléreau – Les Independences PRODUCTION OF SET DESIGN AND COSTUMES Ateliers de la Comédie de Genève

PRODUCTION TOUT ÇA / QUE ÇA und Comédie de Genève MUSICAL PRODUCTION DURING THE CREATION Miroirs Étendus

CO-PRODUCTION MC2 Maison de la culture de Grenoble, Les Nuits de Fourvière – festival international de la Métropole de Lyon, Odéon-Théâtre de l’Europe - Paris, Festival d’Automne, Centre dramatique national de Tours – Théâtre Olympia, Malraux scène nationale Chambéry Savoie, Le Lieu Unique, CDN Orléans / Centre-Val de Loire, CENTQUATRE-PARIS, Les Halles de Schaerbeek, 3 bis f Centre d’arts contemporains arts vivants & arts visuels

SUPPORT Fondation BNP Paribas, DRAC Île-de-France (production funding)

SUPPORT RESIDENCE Plateforme 2 Pôles Cirque in Normandy – La Brèche in Cherbourg, Villa Belleville – Paris, La Ménagerie de Verre as part of the StudioLab program, MC2: Maison de la culture de Grenoble – Scène nationale

Tsirihaka Harrivel and Vimala Pons are associate artists at Lieu Unique (Nantes). Vimala Pons is an associate artist at CENTQUATRE (Paris), MC2: Maison de la culture de Grenoble – Scène nationale, and the Centre Dramatique National de Tours – Théâtre Olympia

Special thanks goes to Makoto Chill Ôkubo, Philippe Jarrigeon, Hakyoon Larcher, Alizée Vazeille, and the entire wonderful team at the Comédie de Genève

Vimala Pons

Honda Romance

This piece is a theatrical extravaganza disguised as an art performance, created by and starring French film and theater star Vimala Pons.

Dates

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