To catch a glimpse of the god Pan, you’ll need to rise early… or simply never go to bed. At dawn, in the woods of La Bâtie, we gather in silence and make our way towards a mysterious golden rock. That is where Pan dwells. Half-man, half-goat, Olivier Martin-Salvan delivers the kind of subtle yet grotesque performance only he can conjure. The hairy, bearded, pot-bellied creature he embodies broods over his idleness, solitude and melancholy. Sudden impulsive, sometimes lustful bursts pull him from his stupor. A few notes on a flute here, a Nijinsky-like dance step there: clearly, he is searching for distraction.

Visual artists and choreographers Clédat & Petitpierre playfully revisit the mythological figure of Pan, god of nature and protector of shepherds and flocks. This early-morning apparition gives rise to a promise of theatre: primal, pastoral and joyful. Fittingly, it unfolds in the very place where the “Bois de la Bâtie” festival first began, fifty years ago.