This time Cie de KOE is delving deep into its own repertoire, going right back to 1998. Peter Van den Eede and Willem de Wolf star in De Nijl is in Caïro aangekomen: a hilarious and deeply human commentary on philosophy, theatre and life, in a bold rereading and reworking of texts by Schopenhauer, Montaigne and Pascal. The makers bring the piece into the 21st century and investigate how the eminent philosophers – along with a few new faces – can offer solace in times of mindfulness and Doctor Google.
scripts
Peter Van den Eede and Frank Focketyn
reworked and acted by
Peter Van den Eede and Willem de Wolf
after texts by writers including
Schopenhauer, Montaigne and Pascal
with ideas from
Der Schein trügt by Thomas Bernhardt
technians
Bram De Vreese and Shane Van Laer
stage directions
Griet op de Beeck (initial shows)
lichting design
Marc Claeys (initial shows)
in partnership with
Mechelen Cultural Centre
“They burst out with one incisive observation after another, with a lightness of touch that you might almost call unphilosophical, combining there remarks at the same time with an ironic commentary on the state of affairs in today’s theatre.”
– Knack (1998)
In this play, two brothers test their strength in the arena of the literary salon. Dressed in bathrobes, they fill the silence with words: two blood relatives stuck in a rambling folie à deux. Such strong words inevitably crack and humour leaks out through the gaps. But sometimes words also take them to unexpected places, almost imperceptibly revealing tender glimpses of humanity.
Two men, two opposites: asceticism and hedonism, rationality and romanticism, pragmatism and heroism, philosophy and slapstick. The one thing they do have in common is their kidney stones. And a woman who has left them in each other’s company.
