Cie Paris Bénarès will present its Chamôh at WOMADelaide 2025. A giant camel marionette who has lived a thousand lives and who has in its “head thousands of courses, exotic scenes, perfumes, tastes, images…” Patrice Verquère, founder of Cie Paris Bénarès chats to us about Chamôh and their maiden voyage outside of Europe. Read our interview with Patrice below.
Cie Paris Bénarès is coming to WOMADelaide with the roving show Chamôh. Tell us about the show.
This marionnette was created in 2012. It has already been presented in different versions : in a parade, different staging, with a clown, in festivals, in cathedrals… We regularly adapt our shows according to demand.
What was the inspiration for the show Chamôh? And where does that spelling come from? [the French word for camel is chameau]
We had already built a giant bird 4 years earlier. Passionate about building, we decided to enlarge the family, so Chamôh was born!
The spelling is the result of chance. Oisôh [a misspelling of the French word for bird which is oiseau] was spelt that way by chance, and now all our puppets are spelt that way. It’s a sort of trademark!
In creating Chamôh, are you inspired by all the refugees in the world or by the refugees in a particular area – I’m thinking of those in Gaza at the moment, for example.
It would be a lie to say that we are inspired by them, but we are enormously touched by their fates.
Why did you choose a camel as your animal?
It’s an animal that is close to man, a working animal, like us. So we can easily imagine scenes between the human (the actor) and the animal (the puppet). Everyone in the audience can understand the codes and make the relationship their own.
Did you build Chamôh at La Charpenterie in La Grigonnais? Have you been working with them for long? How many people and how many hours did it take to build your camel?
We built the puppet in Blain, in another creative space next to La Grigonnais. A dozen people from different trades worked on the project for a total of 3,500 hours.
La Charpenterie is the workshop we bought and moved into in 2023.
What is the camel made of and why did you choose these materials?
It’s made of wood, steel and polyester resin. These are solid materials that will stand the test of time. With some maintenance, it might still be here in 20 years’ time!
How many people does it take to make your giant camel puppet walk and move? How many people from Cie Paris Bénarès are coming to WOMADelaide?
5 actors and handlers are needed to bring it to life. We also need 6 volunteers to be on hand to help with transport. There will be 6 of us travelling, with our outreach manager accompanying us.
Is there a message you want to convey to people with your performance of Chamôh?
We don’t have any particular political message, but we do like the idea that work can be fun when your passion turns into a profession. Through our shows, we want to bring poetry to the street, so that everyone can travel alongside the marionette using their imagination.
Where in the world has Chamôh already been performed? How have people from different cultures reacted differently?
We’ve performed in most European countries, and the reactions have been unanimous: amazement, and sometimes incomprehension in front of a giant animal that is made of wood and steel and yet is so much alive…
On your website, you say of Chamôh: “I was incarcerated while I am the journey incarnate”. How do you convey this idea through the show?
Even if the show version of ‘Chamôh’ is no longer relevant, Chamôh is just like us: hungry for freedom. Through his journey, it’s the audience that escapes, rediscovers its childlike soul, and in turn travels for the duration of the show.
THE CIE PARIS BÉNARÈS
You founded Cie Paris Bénarès in 2008. Why did you found the company? What was your background before founding the company?
I’ve always worked in street performance. I founded my first company when I was living in the Paris region. After moving house, I set up this new company to fulfil my dream at the time: building a giant bird.
Why did you choose the name Paris Bénarès [an old French name for the city of Varanasi in India] for your company? Have you spent any time in India?
Yes, I travelled to India for 6 months when I was living in the Paris region. I was 19 at the time and I was deeply impressed by the city of Benares. The name of the company brings to mind travelling, the escape you can feel when you see a show, which is a kind of inner journey.
Did you train in circus or carpentry?
I started circus school at the age of 14 in the Paris region, then in England. It was through the circus that I started working in live performance. Puppetry came much later.
Has Cie Paris Bénarès ever been to Australia? If so, where and how?
This will be our first time in Australia, our first time outside Europe. The team will be staying a few extra days to discover this beautiful country.
On your website it says that the Paris Bénarès company is ‘driven by the dream of creating a mechanical circus where puppets perform shows’. How long have you had this dream? Why?
All our animals (the bird, the camel, the cows and the horse) will be in the circus menagerie and will take part in this great show. It’s a long-term project that may take more than 20 years of work and adventure! Each new show brings us closer to this dream, even if we still have a long way to go.
Do you have a dream location (anywhere in the world) where you’d like to present Chamôh?
In Benares, of course!
The company is pursuing a project to create a third place dedicated to arts, crafts and live performance on its own land, in the north of the Loire-Atlantique department. Why did you choose this objective and what other artists and companies are you working with to achieve it?
We wanted to become owners of our work facilities, so we bought a 3600 m2 hangar close to our home. This old carpentry, built by the hands of the old carpenters, is very inspiring, and far too big for us!
We also wanted to share the space with a number of other people, as part of a new collective adventure and a way of bringing our region to life. Today, several companies rehearse here on a regular or one-off basis. We also welcome a craftsman who is preparing a wrought-iron merry-go-round, and an illustrator…
Anything else you’d like to tell us?
We look forward to meeting you! See you soon!
KEY INFO FOR CIE PARIS BÉNARÈS CHAMÔH AT WOMADELAIDE 2025
WHAT: Cie Paris Bénarès’s Chamôh. a giant camel marionette
WHEN: You can see Chamôh each day at WOMADelaide 2025. This roving performance will be on at 6pm Friday 7 March, 3pm and 6:15pm Saturday 8 March, 3pm and 6:15pm Saturday 9 March and 3:30pm and 6:15pm on Monday 10 March.
WHERE: Botanic Park, Adelaide
HOW: Purchase tickets to WOMADelaide via the official website
HOW MUCH: You can choose tickets for a single day or for 3 or 4 days.
Prices are as follows:
Friday night
$180 adults
$162 Concession
$126 Youth (aged 13 to 17)
Saturday, Sunday or Monday
$240 adults
$216 Concession
$168 Youth (aged 13 to 17)
3 days (either Friday to Sunday or Saturday to Monday)
$445 adults
$311 Concession
$ 300 Youth (aged 13 to 17)
4 days (every day and evening of the festival) :
$ 465 adults
$418 Concession
$ 325 Youth (aged 13 to 17)
Admission is free for children aged 12 and under.
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You may also like to read WOMADelaide 2025: A spotlight on the French and Francophone acts coming this year
