32 RUE VANDENBRANDEN
In 32 rue Vandenbranden, the action takes place
under a wide open sky in a mountain landscape
with only rickety mobile homes for shelter. If the
trilogy focused on intimacy and the inside, this
performance turns towards extimacy (the term
extimacy ‘extimité’, was coined by Lacan from
the term intimacy ‘intimité’), and the outside. We
find ourselves in a small isolated community
where the inhabitants are confronted with their
own loneliness. The focus in this creation lies
on the internal forces that determine which turn
the characters will take, their motives are being
exposed and stripped of their consciousness. In
32 rue Vandenbranden the characters evolve in
a primarily ‘mental’ space. The border between
what happens in reality and what they believe
happens in reality, become blurred. They lose
themselves for fear of something that turns out to
lie within themselves and so they stay trapped in
their own isolation.
For Peeping Tom, a new creation often starts with
designing the set. It greatly determines how the
work develops and it is important to find out how
the characters are affected by finding themselves
together in a specific environment. For this piece,
Peeping Tom wanted to tackle a wider community;
take things out into the open. Indeed a massive
cyclorama represents the limitless sky under
which the mini mountain range rises up within the
confines of the theatre.
PHOTO Herman Sorgeloos
One of the inspirational sources for the piece was
Shohei Imamura’s film, The Ballad of Narayama.
32 rue Vandenbranden also depicts a remote
mountain community whose customs are laws
unto themselves. The cast is mainly young and
Gabriela Carrizo and Franck Chartier wanted to
delve into all the physiological baggage that can
hamper young people, even those who appear to
be at total liberty to do what they want, from ever
really escaping their roots, their family or their
culture. There’s a valley visible in the set, but the
protagonists are never quite able to reach it and
for one, an even worse fate awaits.
The actress-dancer Maria Otal, who in spite
of her advanced age shone in Le Sous Sol,
contributed to the creation. She died unexpectedly
in Brussels; 10 days before the premiere of 32
rue Vandenbranden. Peeping Tom dedicates this
performance to her.