INEXTREMISTE returns to Les Tombées de la Nuit after the impressive Extrêmités (at Les Étangs d’Apigné in 2015) involving planks, gas cylinders and three performers on make-shift seesaws and wheelchairs, with their biting humour and infectious lust for life. EXIT is a new acrobatic piece by the company, which will be performed this year after premiering at Châlons-en-Champagne in June. It pushes Yann Ecauvre’s notion of “risky reality” in circus arts even further, as INEXTREMISTE’s hilarious, clownish acrobats light up the Rennes sky around the basket of a 3400 m3 hot-air balloon during a tethered flight.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, Cirque Inextremiste is proud to present its latest creation. We are ready to take off and two lucky spectators will travel with our experienced pilot. As usual, everything is permitted, except, perhaps, thinking that the characters are in full control of what they are doing.” A hot-air balloon tamer, musicians and other surprise characters slowly disrupt the performance and derail this feat of engineering… As the story unfolds, EXIT takes over the balloon basket, creating never-before-seen balancing acts and extreme acrobatics, on board and overboard, several metres above the ground. INEXTREMISTE retain their signature madness and quirkiness, remaining clownish and extravagant, while continuing to defy the laws of gravity and push back the boundaries of the circus arts, theatre and stunt work. They have quite literally reached new heights in their quest for extreme imbalance, choosing this time to use a giant-scale installation.

Thanks to a new partnership between the festival and the Rennes Sports Department, the Stade Vélodrome field will witness a spectacular hot-air balloon flight, offering a series of striking images and acrobatics to take your breath away…