Life's a circus: James Thiérrée's crackpot stage creations - in pictures

Katell Le Brenn and James Thiérrée in Tabac Rouge. Photograph: Tristram Kenton for the Guardian

'At the beginning, Tabac Rouge was about creation,' says Thiérrée. 'I imagined a man in a rehearsal, being overtaken by his own oeuvre.' Photograph: Tristram Kenton for the Guardian

Thiérrée: 'Then I introduced a kingdom – a revolution. Then I though it would be interesting if it was the king who dreamed of undoing his power.' Photograph: Tristram Kenton for the Guardian

Thiérrée in his one-man show Raoul, 2009. Photograph: Tristram Kenton for the Guardian

Thiérrée's Raoul at the Barbican. Photograph: Tristram Kenton for the Guardian

Raoul dealt with doppelgangers. Photograph: Tristram Kenton for the Guardian

Thiérrée in Au Revoir Parapluie, 2007. 'It is best to go expecting the unexpected,' wrote Lyn Gardner of his shows. Photograph: Tristram Kenton for the Guardian

La Veillée des Abysses from 2005 – a 'playful and wild emotional tempest,' wrote Lyn Gardner. Photograph: Tristram Kenton for the Guardian

Magnus Jakobsson and Maria Sendow in Au Revoir Parapluie. Photograph: Tristram Kenton for the Guardian

Satchie Noro in Au Revoir Parapluie – 'a mad word-association game that has been given a physical manifestation,' wrote Lyn Gardner. Photograph: Tristram Kenton for the Guardian

Uma Ysamat in La Veillée des Abysses, which centres on a shipwreck. Photograph: Tristram Kenton for the Guardian

Clowning around with a dazzling impact ... Thiérrée and Uma Ysamat in La Veillée des Abysses. Photograph: Tristram Kenton for the Guardian