Tieret

Today I sneaked into the theater with little children again. 

Once I mentioned that many Belgian theatres tour the cultural centres around the whole country. So I started to pay more attention to some interesting shows which are being played not far from where I live.

Theater Tieret made recently a new show under the directing of Neville Tranter (Stuffed Puppets). I like Tieret and I like Tranter. So I went on a little trip to a small town Tielt and I went to the theater with maybe eighty kids not older than 5 years and their teachers. Being probably recognized as one of them.

Rimpelwals means something like a waltz of wrinkles. We meet a grandpa and his grandson and we follow some memories of the dear grandfather... who is somehow dieing in front of our eyes, and nicely poetically leaves the boy and us while dancing his last waltz...
I've seen many grandfathers puppets, and many jokes with their teeth. But Rimpelwals is not dishonouring old people. And it is not underestimating those young kids watching the story. Above all I found it a very heartwarming story.
The tour of Theater Tieret's Rimpelwals continues in january in Netherlands, go and see and shed a tear...

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I saw a singing tent

A very  intersting object theatre workshop was happening in Brussel in november. Under the leading work of Agnes Limbos and Christian Carrignon, 12 people were bringing weird things to life. Funny and fresh. Strong and tragic. Singing tents, glitters and crashing cars... 

Pierrick De Luca, Jeni Barnard - Une femme amoureuse

Pierrick De Luca - Une femme amoureuse

Audrey Dero - Schneewittchen

Clement Montagnier, Jeni Barnard - Le cordon ombilical

Puppet of the week

Creepy Vladimir Putin by Christian Bailley for just a few milions of euros!

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Go and see: puppetry tips

If you are in Belgium don't miss the Art Day for Children or Kunstendag voor Kinderen this Sunday 16/11. There will be a lot of creative stuff to do and see. For example the show of Theater Tieret, they will play in a tent in Lint their short scientific show about dreams and dreaming Baraque Future. 

Or the show De steltenloper, which is a person walking on stilts... Those long wooden poles... sounds mysterious. (coproduction of De Maan and Nat Gras)

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It will be a special day for us too. Playing Popoty in Gent in the morning and The Cake Story - Koekensprook in the afternoon in Roeselare. May there be more Art days like this! See you!

Kukulu - Koekensprook

in the streets of Antwerp

While walking the streets of Antwerp with my parents, who visited us last week, I was just about to show them the building, which looks like a bacon. (Yes, it's on the Hofstraat and it looks like bacon, because it used to be a butcher's hall. So far our guide book says.) My dad suddenly calls my name and disappears in a tiny door going underground, just like Alice. I followed him and for my big surprise I appeared in an old, small puppet theatre. 

The curly puppeteer explained how lucky we are, because De poesje is normally closed. They play only on weekends and than for closed groups who book a performance. He showed us the marionette with big nose,  who's name is "The Nose" and he is one of the main characters. I asked if there is still one of the old original puppets. And than he showed us a puppet from (approx.) 1860. 

As I already speak some dutch, I was wondering why is the theatre called "kitten" (de poes - a cat, het poesje - little cat) I found out, that "poesje" or "poesjenel" is how they used to call the marionettes in the Antwerp's dialect. (Thank you, wikipedia...)

If you will visit Antwerp, check it out, stop by, there are more "poesje" theatres, but this one was so magic and tiny. Maybe the magic curly puppeteer will be there again and he'll show you the old heavy puppets. Maybe he will also show you how they can hit each other with a wooden stick! And maybe it'll be closed. Than have a look at least at the bacon building. And try again later.

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