Description

The coming-of-age tale of a tiny ant who, while trying to find her place among her own kind, discovers the secrets of bread making. Véronique Balme, the creator of "Thumbelina" and "A Chameleon in Paris", presents a coming-of-age tale that encourages both listening and interaction.<br><br> Once upon a time, there lived a tiny ant, so minuscule, so microscopic, that she was called Little Ant—that's how small she was! That year, food was hard to find, and even harder to bring back to the anthill. Then one day, Little Ant stumbled upon something she had never seen in nature, something golden, fragrant, crunchy, and delicious: a crumb of bread. So, to find out where this bread came from and how to get some for everyone, Little Ant set off on her journey. Along the way, she met the Queen of the Butterflies, the plump Field Mouse, and even the foul-mouthed Spider.<br><br> The actress, with her reassuring sweetness, will make this little ant out of pieces of bread before the children's eyes, and they will all follow her on this unexpected journey punctuated by melodies and songs, where the characters will sometimes be represented as simple and identifiable puppets, and sometimes by the actress herself in the context of an ingenious staging that will make her change characters in the blink of an eye with the help of various costume elements.<br> Similarly, the pretty, simple and effective setting will transform throughout the story to represent a work surface, a mill and even a bread oven.<br><br> For Véronique Balme, the author and performer, the desire arose to tell the story of the bread cycle, this food found on every continent. Here, it is evoked through the European culture of wheat fields and mills. Just as we all wondered as children watching ants in our countryside busily carrying grains on their backs, the audience follows the learning process of breadmaking through the initiatory journey of this ant, even smaller than its companions, who will prove its worth by discovering how to make a loaf that will feed its colony all winter. Thus, our heroine, despite her difference, will be seen in a new light, beyond her disability, and will find a new place within her group.<br> This show retains the intimacy, the closeness of the listener's ear and recalls the stories one might hear before falling asleep.