Claire Ruffin is the artistic director of L’Insomante company, with whom she created a show of the same name in 2011 and a sister project, Dormez-vous? She tried to rid herself of her fear of sleeplessness by creating L’Insomnante the show.

The magic woven by Claire Ruffin is all in the physical telling of the story and the inanimate objects she choses to give life and new meaning to. Her strength lies in her ability to make a connection with the audience with a gentle elegance and a few carefully selected objects. She captures the imagination with wit and irony in an understated way and with a deep intelligence.

Claire has worked with Groupe o, Mozkai Theatre in Grenoble, Teatr Box Office in Warsaw, Company Monsieur Madame in Toulouse and Company Lamereboitel in Marseille.

Crying Out Loud and Claire Ruffin

Claire’s attitude and methods of working impressed Crying Out Loud’s artistic director, as she includes people who are, it is wrongly assumed, not able to join in the contemporary arts; the elderly, people in psychiatric institutions and children on the autistic spectrum. Claire’s work is unique and inspirational in challenging the expectations of the audience and those working with them.

From November 2013, Crying Out Loud worked with Claire to create Dormez -vous?, the interactive week-long experience for children on the autistic spectrum. Crying Out Loud presented L’Insomnante at London’s The Place in 2014.

Using the original production of L’Insomnante, which is about sleeplessness, research and development periods took place in Poole with Montacute School and La brèche L’Institut Médico-Éducatif with children of varying ages on the autistic spectrum and a team including Claire Ruffin, Slavka Jovanovic, Joanne Skapinker, Vincent Beaume, Francis Coulaud and Caterine Exbrayat.

Dormez-vous? took place in special schools in London’s Tottenham and Wimbledon in October 2014 and at The Point in Eastleigh in April 2016. A full report of the week at The Point is available below.