BIG IN BELGIUM 2016 by nick mattan

SUMMERHALL Fringe Venue 24 summerhall.co.uk box office 0131 560 1581

Us/Them BRONKS

World Without Us

足O N T R O E R E N D G O E D

OneHundred足Homes

Y I N K A 足K U I T E N B R O U W E R

Bildraum足

AT E L I E R B I L D R A U M

Macbain

D O O D PA A R D

Last Call

HET NIEUWSTEDELIJK

3 4 5 6 7 9 10 11 12 13 14 16 17 18 19 20 21 23 24 25 26 27 28

A new wave of Flemish theatre After looking closely at this year’s Big in Belgium program it felt like a general theme seemed to be emerging. In one way or another most shows are talking about a fear of losing the safety of home. Whether it is quite literally about home itself as in Yinka Kuitenbrouwer’s performance [ OneHunderdHomes] , or more general about everybody’s home, planet earth, as Ontroerend Goed does in [ World Without Us] , it feels like Belgian artists feel the need to think about the disappearance of the places where we are most comfortable. In [ Last Call] , the musical theatre company Het Nieuwstedelijk has been making a live action comic book about a young runaway in which the general discomfort of being homeless focuses on reliving the can be felt, while Atelier [ Bildraum] melancholy of past homes, now empty but still haunted by our m emories of living there.

Perhaps a large part of the explanation for this year’s fixation on intrusions in our comfort zone can be found by watching [ Us/Them] by Brussels youth c ompany BRONKS, which depicts the events of the hostage-taking at a p rimary school in Beslan (2004) adapted in such a way that nine year olds can actually reflect on them. It is a most timely piece since only a few months ago Belgium suffered some terrorist attacks of its own, closely related to those in Paris which preceded them. Contemporary arts are always reflections on contemporary issues. When major devastating events happen close to where you live they will without fail penetrate your way of thinking, change the way you act and influence what you create. In a large or small way all shows in this collection show awareness of recent European history, some by directly linking the material with the current stream of desolate refugees, some by making more general thoughts and comments attempting to place recent events into a broader line of thinking. This year’s Big in Belgium hopes to take you on a journey where you question your own points of view in light of the recent reality. And is this not the only true purpose of fiction? Big in Belgium was created by program David Bauwens . production Richard Jordan, Tammy Dale, Elaine Innes . communication & finances David Bauwens & Wim Smet . production on location Jo Mackie . technical asssistance JB & Brett Stephens . press Martin Shippen . design Nick Mattan . coproduction Big in Belgium, Richard Jordan Productions, Theatre Royal Plymouth, Theater aan Zee & Summerhall . transport Niels Ieven . special thanks to: Simon Stokes, Hans Rabaey & Theater aan Zee, all artists & c ompanies involved, Summerhall, all technicians involved & the Edinburgh audiences . supported by the Flemish goverment Summerhall Box Office: 0131 560 1581

US/THEM BRONKS During a hostage drama in a school in Beslan that started in September 2004, the greatest of evils (terrorists) chose the greatest good (a group of children) as their victim. Us/Them is not a straightforward account of this terrible d rama, but is about the entirely individual way children cope with e xtreme situations. With humour and a matter-of-fact a pproach, it contrasts the views of a boy and a girl with those of adults. L ightness, a breath-taking scenography and a thrilling young cast, provide a must-see! Brussels-based BRONKS is one of Belgium’s leading theatres for young audiences.

3 4 5 6 7 9 10 11 12 13 14 16 17 18 19 20 21 23 24 25 26 27 28 AUGUST VENUE Main Hall - 10:00 1 hour (9+)

Filip Tielens at Cobra.be [ èèèè ] “... lightness and humour are what prevents Us/Them b ecoming too grave, but nor does it make fun of these violent events. ... unlike what often happens with such serious topics in the t heatre, not only were the parents convinced, but the children in the audience were also wildly enthusiastic.“

PREVIEW 3rd-4th (£8)

SHOWS £10 - concessions £8

BRONKS (BE), BIG IN BELGIUM (BE), RICHARD JORDAN PRODUCTIONS (UK), THEATRE ROYAL PLYMOUTH (UK) IN ASSOCIATION WITH SUMMERHALL (UK) AUTHOR AND DIRECTOR CARLY WIJS PERFORMERS GYTHA PARMENTIER AND ROMAN VAN HOUTVEN DRAMATURGY MIEKE VERSYP DESIGN STEF STESSEL COPRODUCTION

US/ THEM BRONKS

WORLD WITHOUT US ONTROEREND GOED We could hardly imagine it: no mortgages, no knitting scarves, no swimming pools, no butterfly strokes and no more honey kept in glass bowls. That animals would no longer be stuffed, sky scrapers no longer be built, no more suicide and no mathematics. There would be no more talk about the old days, about what’s possible. There would be no more words. We could hardly imagine it. It would never get this far. We’d find a solution. A world without us.

Alternatingly performed by Valentijn Dhaenens (3rd - 14th) and Karolien De Bleser (16th - 28th)

Theaterkrant.nl “The image of the outside world that meets the inside world is not only very beautiful, it’s also a poetic summary of Ontroerend Goed’s body of work, always trying to make different realities shift into one another, to allow fiction and reality to pervade each other.” Enola.be

3 4 5 6 7 9 10 11 12 13 14 16 17 18 19 20 21 23 24 25 26 27 28 AUGUST VENUE Main Hall - 11:30 1 hour 15 min (14+)

PREVIEW 3rd-4th (£10)

SHOWS £12 - £10

“What would we miss the most, if humanity ceased to exist? Companies that make this kind of theatre.” COPRODUCTION KUNSTENCENTRUM VOORUIT (BE), BIG IN BELGIUM (BE) , RICHARD JORDAN PRODUCTIONS (UK), THEATRE

ROYAL PLYMOUTH (UK) IN ASSOCIATION WITH SUMMERHALL (UK) DIRECTOR ALEXANDER DEVRIENDT TEXT ALEXANDER DEVRIENDT, VALENTIJN DHAENENS, KAROLIEN DE BLESER & JOERI SMET SCENOG RAPHY RENATO NICOLODI EXECUTION SCENOGRAPHY VORMEN TECHNICIANS JEROEN WUYTS & BABETTE PONCELET PHOTO MIRJAM DEVRIENDT

WORLD WITHOUT US ONTROEREND GOED

ONEHUNDRED HOMES YINKA KUITENBROUWER For her intimate performance OneHundredHomes, Yinka Kuitenbrouwer visited over a hundred people. She talked to them about the idea of ‘home’. With the help of snapshots, quotes and biscuits, Yinka created a new story. An intimate performance, played in a small wooden cabin in Summerhall’s Courtyard, designed by carpenter/ artist Dries Warlop. OneHundredHomes is an ongoing performance: each time Yinka performs the play, she also visits people from the area, adding their stories to her archives. During her stay at the Fringe, Yinka will continue to collect impressions in the E dinburgh area, visiting residents, artists, and visitors. Join Yinka in her new Edinburgh home!

3 4 5 6 7 9 10 11 12 13 14 16 17 18 19 20 21 23 24 25 26 27 28 AUGUST VENUE The street (look for the sign!) 1 hour (14+)

PREVIEW 3 rd - 4 th 14:05 (£8)

SHOWS Tuesday - Sunday 14:05 + extra shows on Friday - Sunday 16:05 £10 - concessions £8 COPRODUCTION YINKA KUITENBROUWER (BE), DRIFT VZW (BE), BIG IN BELGIUM (BE), RICHARD JORDAN PRODUCTIONS (UK), THEATRE ROYAL PLYMOUTH (UK) IN ASSOCIATION WITH SUMMERHALL (UK) PERFORMANCE YINKA KUITENBROUWER COACHING INEKE NIJSSEN AND DIRK PAUWELS D RAMATURGY MIEKE VERSYP SCENOGRAPHY DRIES WARLOP PHOTO YURI VAN DER HOEVEN WITH SPECIAL THANKS TO JELLE CLARISSE, RUTH MARIËN, BESTEBUREN, BIJ’DE VIEZE GASTEN, CAMPO, KC DEWERF, PROVINCE OOST-VLAANDEREN, CITY OF GHENT AND ALL OF THOSE WHO WERE VISITED.

ONE HUNDRED HOMES YINKA KUITENBROUWER

ATELIER BILDRAUM BILDRAUM Bildraum is a performance in which an a rchitect and a p hotographer compose an audiovisual story live on stage. By reconstructing spaces in which memories once took place, different storylines slowly unfold like browsing a photo-album c reated on the spot. Two performers act as technicians of the imagination using a rchitectural m odels, live photography, sounds and music. Bildraum offers an experience in which the past and the p resent seem to coincide and in which the spectator himself gradually develops the connections in between. Bildraum unites the visual and the spacial into a surprising and virtual ritualistic performance.

16 17 18 19 20 21 23 24 25 26 27 28 AUGUST VENUE Old Lab - 20:55 40 min (U)

SHOWS £10 - concessions £8

Theaterkrant.nl “...the reality of the live event, only a second later, mixes with the memory of a solidified image.”

ATELIER BILDRAUM (BE), KUNSTENWERKPLAATS PIANOFABRIEK (BE), BIG IN BELGIUM (BE), RICHARD JORDAN PRODUCTIONS (UK), THEATRE ROYAL P LYMOUTH (UK) IN ASSOCIATION WITH SUMMERHALL (UK) CREATIVE CREDITS CONCEPT ATELIER BILDRAUM P ERFORMERS STEVE S ALEMBIER EN CHARLOTTE BOUCKAERT SOUNDDESIGN DUNCAN SPEAKMAN TECHNICIAN CHRISTOPH DONSE D RAMATURGICAL A DVICE MARNIX RUMMENS WITH THE SUPPORT OF BEURSSCHOUWBURG, WPZIMMER EN THE FLEMISH COMMUNITY THANKS TO ZSENNE ARTLAB, JULIE PFLEIDERER, BAS SCHEVERS, TIBO VANDENBORRE, PHILIP JANSSENS, XAVIER CATRY COPRODUCTION

BILDRAUM ATELIER BILDRAUM

MACBAIN DOOD PAARD Macbeth and Kurt Cobain and Lady Macbeth and Courtney Love inspire a pitch-black comedy about unbridled a mbition, hunger for power and an addiction to intoxication and ecstasy. Macbain is a triptych of hilarious interviews with the pop stars, a freaky fast-forward puppet version of Macbeth culminating in a merciless symbiosis of grunge royal couple Cobain-Love and the king and queen of Scotland. In their 22 years of creating work together, Dood Paard have forged a reputation as one of European theatre’s most ground-breaking companies.

3 5 6 7 9 10 11 12 13 14 AUGUST VENUE Old Lab - 20:55 1 hour 15min (+16)

PREVIEW 3 rd (£8)

SHOWS £10 - concessions £8

Volkskrant “A dark poem about two people tormented by fear and guilt, intoxicated by fame and lust for power, feverishly seeking solace with each other in their half-drugged state.”

COPRODUCTION BIG IN BELGIUM (BE), RICHARD JORDAN PRODUCTIONS (UK), THEATRE ROYAL PLYMOUTH (UK) IN ASSOCIATION WITH SUMMERHALL (UK) PERFORMERS GILLIS BIESHEUVEL AND MANJA TOPPER SOUND DESIGN WESSEL SCHRIK LIGHT DESIGN JULIAN MAIWALD TECHNICIANS MICHAEL YALLOP AND ELMAR NEUDAM TEXT GERARDJAN RIJNDERS, WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, COURTNEY LOVE AND KURT COBAIN TRANSLATION INTO ENGLISH PAUL EVANS PHOTO SANNE PEPER WITH THE SUPPORT OF PERFORMING ARTS FUND AND THE CITY OF AMSTERDAM

MAC BAIN DOOD PAARD

LAST CALL HET NIEUWSTEDELIJK A teenage girl runs away from home. To a nearby city. Where nobody seems to notice her. But is there some one looking for her? Playwright and theatre director Adriaan Van Aken and graphic artist Philip Paquet transformed their dark urban comic book into a dynamic video projection for the big screen. Live on stage, actress Sara Vertongen and keyboard miracle J oris Caluwaerts (Zita Swoon, STUFF., Magnus,...), add voices, sounds and m usic to the graphic story. Result? The most vivid and at the same time exhilarating reading of a comic book that you could ever wish for.

3 5 6 7 9 10 11 12 13 16 17 18 19 20 21 23 24 25 26 27 28 AUGUST VENUE Main Hall - 22:40 1 hour (+16)

Stijn Dierckx, De Morgen “Together with actors and musicians, his companions on this quest, one of Belgium’s leading playwrights and directors, Adriaan Van Aken, manages to conjure up a whole world within this new hybrid language. His world …”

PREVIEW 3rd (£8)

SHOWS £10 - concessions £8

COPRODUCTION HET NIEUWSTEDELIJK (BE), BIG IN BELGIUM (BE), RICHARD JORDAN PRODUCTIONS (UK), THEATRE ROYAL

PLYMOUTH (UK) IN ASSOCIATION WITH SUMMERHALL (UK) TEXT, CONCEPT, DIRECTOR ADRIAAN VAN AKEN PLAY, TRANSLATION SARA VERTONGEN MUSIC JORIS CALUWAERTS DRAWINGS PHILIP PAQUET TITLE SONG INNE EYSERMANS VIDEO EDITING AND FX KRISTOF VAN PERRE EN ADRIAAN VAN AKEN LIGHT DESIGN THOMAS VERACHTERT SOUND TOM BUYS

LAST CALL HET NIEUWSTEDELIJK

OVERVIEW

14 10:00

10:00

11:30

14:05 / 16:05

14:05

14:05 / 16:05

20:55

22:40

10:00

20:55