27 — 31.05
Nicolas Mouzet Tagawa, / Proche Quartier Brussels
La vieille dame et le serpent
theatre — premiere
| French → NL, EN | ⧖ 1h | €21 / €17
Brussels-based director and scenographer Nicolas Mouzet Tagawa combines politics with a reflection on the theatrical form. Active in the voluntary sector, particularly in exploring alternatives to institutional psychiatry, he is fascinated by the power of theatre as a machine for creating other realities. In La vieille dame et le serpent, Mouzet Tagawa uses theatrical machinery to question the concept of 'institution'.
How do we inhabit the institution, and how does the institution inhabit us? What exactly happens when we enter it and when we leave it? Three people share the stage: Claire Rappin, a clown enthusiast whose personal story runs through a healthcare structure, Guillaume Papachristou, a person with cerebral palsy whose routine has long been regulated by an institutional framework, and Bastien Montes, an actor and personal assistant to Papachristou.
La vieille dame et le serpent is a poem for the stage in which the set is also a central character. In a dance of theatrical canvases manipulated by visible stagehands, the set becomes an instrument symbolising both the social and healthcare fabric. The result is a theatrical piece that is undeniably visual, formal and committed, questioning social and theatrical conventions.
27.05
- 20:15
28.05
- 19:15
- + aftertalk
29.05
- 20:15
30.05
- 20:15
31.05
- 19:15
Presentation: Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles
Concept, direction and set design: Nicolas Mouzet Tagawa | With: Guillaume Papachristou, Claire Rappin, Bastien Montes | Assistant director: Esther Denis | Collaboration on set design: Esther Denis, Fred Op De Beek | Dramaturgy: Bogdan Kikena | Costumes and textile research: Sofie Durnez | Lighting design: Max Adams | Musical composition: Tim Coenen and Claire Rappin | Choreographic practice and advice: Natacha Nicora | Technical co-direction: Fred Op de Beeck, Britt Roger Sas | Intern scenography: Chloé Evrard | Personal assistant to Guillaume Papachristou during rehearsals: Bastien Montes | Personal assistants to Guillaume Papachristou outside rehearsals: Boris Alessandri, Clément Papachristou, Damien Trapletti | First scenographic experiments: Florence Dubru, Lucas Hamblenne, Thomas Linthoudt | Company development: Florence Bourgeon | Production and international distribution: Leïla Di Gregorio
Production: Proche Quartier | Delegated production: Atelier 210 | Coproduction: Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles, Potlach, Coop, Shelter Prod
Residencies: La Bellone, Paco, kunstencentrum BUDA, Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles, Les Bancs Publics / Friche la Belle de Mai
With the support of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles and the ‘Un Futur pour la Culture’ grant 2023, taxshelter.be, ING and the Tax Shelter of the Belgian Federal Government, WBI and WBTD, Soutien solidaire : Persona | Thanks to Royal Opera House La Monnaie and Théâtre de Namur
Performances in Brussels with the support of the French Embassy in Belgium and the Institut français Paris as part of IF Incontournable
