Fresh from their sold-out run at the internationally acclaimed Manipulate Festival 2026, Ninon Noiret’s The Raft of the Crab is a performance odyssey through the mind and body of multidisciplinary performer Ninon Noiret – an intensely personal reflection on the nature of illness, pain, healing, and transformation.
Created in collaboration with celebrated Scottish puppeteer Gavin Glover, the show blends Ninon Noiret’s background in circus and contemporary dance with puppetry, spoken text, and music by Jim Harbourne to explore and contrast the abstract world of the human mind with the tangible realities of recovery.
Q: Tell us about yourself?
My name is Ninon Noiret, I’m a French actress, contemporary dancer, circus acrobat, and stunt woman living in Scotland. Other than that, you’ll find me in the hills, on a wave, or in my van wandering about the Highlands, following celtic music where it takes me, or reading my books about spirituality, feminism, and paganism.
I trained at National Superior School of Drama in Bordeaux, and discovered my love of Chinese Pole while climbing the mast sailing with my uncle during the summers. The Raft of the Crab – which I am taking to this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe – began life in 2018, and has been developed since through scratch performances at Braw Festival 2018 and Manipulate 2023.
Q: What is your work about and where did you find inspiration?
My work is about my journey through cancer, and how it shaped who I am now. My inspiration came from my fear of dying at first, and then became more about resilience and the act of surviving. I created the show while I was in chemo. Even if it’s not a dark show, it’s full of humour.
Following a sold-out run at Manipulate Festival 2026, soon now to play at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2026 at Assembly’s Roxy Central venue, The Raft of the Crab is a performance odyssey of the body and mind – a personal reflection on the nature of illness, pain, healing, and transformation.
Q: The work reflects on the nature of pain and illness. Why did it feel important for you to reflect on this through performance?
At first, it helped me make sense of what happened to me. Secondly, I wanted to share with other people who could have experienced the same thing, or were dealing with something similar (for them or their close ones). To share in the sometimes absurdity of being called ‘so strong, when resilience simply comes from just not having a choice. The fight is never a choice, but how we deal with it is.
Q: What would you want the audience to take from experiencing your work?
I don’t want to impose anything on my audiences. But I would be happy if they feel joy from The Raft of The Crab; that whatever comes their way, they feel they can do it, and laugh about it. Even if it takes time. Personally, what I love about a show is when it makes me think at the end, instead of “I’ve seen a good story but now I can go back to my life”. If the audience leaves, and keeps the thought of it for a little while after, then it’s had an impact. Even a tiny bit. That is what I love about art.
Ninon Noiret is a French actress, contemporary dancer and circus acrobat who moved from rainy Brittany to rainy Scotland in 2017. She trained at the National Superior School of Drama in Bordeaux, and discovered her love of Chinese Pole while climbing the mast sailing with her uncle during the summers. She has collaborated with the acclaimed Theatre du Phare and Philippe Decouflé in France, before moving her practice in Scotland towards the fusion of personal narrative with artistic and physical expression, as both storyteller and protagonist. The Raft of the Crab began life in 2018 and has been developed through scratch performances at Braw Festival 2018 and Manipulate 2023. Ninon also trained as a stuntwoman throughout the show’s creation, and is now fully qualified on the British Stunt Register.
Venue: Roxy Central, Assembly | Dates: Mon 17 – Mon 31 August. Time: 14:30pm (60 mins). Book here.