In De dieren, humans have to face facts. They stand accused by their surroundings. Or at least it seems so: “You’d have to be blind not to realise that we aren’t wanted here, that the world is doing all it can to crush, suffocate, drown, burn and poison us!”
concept
Geert Belpaeme
director
Geert Belpaeme, Mats Van Herreweghe
stage directions
Bauke Lievens
lighting design
Geert Vanoorlé
actors
Greet Jacobs, Oxana Sankova, Lien Wildemeersch
scenography
Jens Burez
performance and music
Mattias De Craene
taxidermy and costumes
Viktor Leestmans
producer
l’hommmm
co-producer
Kunstencentrum Vooruit
with the support of
the Flemish Government, Kunstencentrum Buda, De Grote Post, C-Takt, KAAP, Cultuur Gent
“Animals are always the observed. The fact that they can observe us has lost all significance.”
- John Berger, Why Look at Animals?
In this piece Geert Belpaeme asks us about being human, the environment, citizenship and power. He does so through the eyes of animals: age-old silent witnesses of who or what humans are but also of what language does and the harm it can cause. They bear witness to the human gaze that turns everything that exists outside itself into an object, even something to be consumed. But what if animals and things stared back at us?
Two of the actors will be appearing several times at nona this season. Besides Lien Wildemeersch, we recognise Greet Jacobs (who can also be seen on 20 February in Weird Tales by KRAPP) and Oxana Sankova (who will be presenting her own play I forgot at nona on 6 November). Veteran jazz musician Mattias De Craene – who can be heard later this season with his band Nordmann – will provide the music.
De dieren is simultaneously reminiscent of the obnoxiousness of Kafka’s Trial and the irresolvable trial of the war criminal Adolf Eichmann. But watch out: this time we are all in the dock.
