La Grande Lézarde is an Italian-Belgian company founded in 2019 by Miriam, born from the desire to bring together clowning, physical theatre, magic, and puppetry within a single scenic language. The company aims to create extra-everyday bubbles with a strong visual impact: suspended micro-worlds in which the audience is invited to step out of daily life and open their imagination to other horizons. These scenic spaces become mirrors of human nature, crossed by contradictions, fragility, and beauty. Images take precedence over words, leaving the audience free to project what they wish to see, feel, and recognize. Through the language of clowning, laughter becomes a tool to give voice to what disturbs, to what is often preferred to be ignored. It is a laughter that creates connection, capable of bringing the audience together in a shared moment. The work with puppets is fully integrated into this artistic research. It has developed over time through numerous encounters and experiences, notably through Miriam’s collaboration, beginning in 2023, with Cie Clair de Lune Théâtre, where she performs as an actress in the production Petite Histoire Mordante. More recently, this practice has been enriched by an exploration of material manipulation, in resonance with a poetic approach inspired by the universe of Philippe Genty.

Of Italian origin, Miriam discovered the world of clowning through a training path alongside many teachers from all over the world. She began in Italy, training with Jean Menningault, Pierre Byland, Leris Colombaioni, Emmanuel Lavallée, and Rita Pelusio. She continued in Belgium with Micheline Vandepoel, Carina Bonan, Tom Roos, Lory Leshi, Christophe Thellier, and Stéphane Filloque. Her journey then led her to Spain with Eric de Bont and Virginia Imaz, to Luxembourg with Hervé Langlois, and to France with Emmanuel Sambeley and Fanny Giraud. She further deepened her research at the SIAC – Scuola Internazionale dell’Attore Comico in Reggio Emilia, as well as at the Escuela Internacional de Teatro Berty Tovías in Barcelona. Passionate about movement for over twenty-five years, Miriam has explored various forms of dance and physical techniques, gradually enriching her artistic universe. Today, she combines physical work with the practice of the chromatic accordion and singing, further expanding the expressive possibilities of her scenic research, both artistic and artisanal.