"Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" , a play by Edward Albee, performed by the De Koe theatre company
- from: 06.11.2008
- to: 20.12.2008
agenda
At the Théâtre Garonne from November 6th to 15th, 2008,At the Théâtre de Nîmes from November 18th to 21st, 2008,
At the Théâtre de la Bastille as part of the Autumn festival, from November 27th to December 5th,
At Dunkerque national theatre, December 19th and 20th, 2008,
At the Ateliers de Lyon (dates to be confirmed).
Practical
De Koe theatre company - http://www.dekoe.be/F/021_profiel_D.php"Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf ?", Edward Albee's most famous play, presents the breakdown of a couple: George, a university history professor, and Martha. Over a dinner, they lay out before their "friends" Nick and Honey the mystifications, provocations and verbal jousting which they take an almost perverse pleasure in creating to conceal from themselves the breakdown of their marriage.
This harsh observation of emotional glaciation, this indictment through the absurd of conventions and pretences, had everything De Koe was looking for, and their approach is made more moving by an impressive sense of collectiveness and community. Performers as well as creators, the actors from the Flemish company constantly explore the divide which separates reality and appearance through their shows and reveal the immediacy of the theatrical experience by playing with artifice and representative symbols.
Between the actors and their characters, between the stage (transformed here into a battlefield in a middle-class home) and the theatre, a game of illusions is created, through which De Koe challenges the duplicitous, artificial dimension: like Nick and Honey, the spectator, at first incredulous, soon in turn becomes disturbed... Theatre De Koe-style is the art of looking at life face on.
The De Koe company was founded in 1989 by Peter Van den Eede and Bas Teeken, graduates of the Anvers conservatory, directed by Dora Van der Groen. In 1993 it was recognized and funded by the Belgian ministry of the Flemish community.
- Updated: 25.11.2008
