Fabre penetrates the essence of corporeality even further with this theatrical production for 22 actors, dancers and musicians. Once again we witness the uprising of grotesque bodies, this time literally in a historical setting. The production which was especially created for the festival of Avignon was custom-made for the Cour d’Honneur of the Palais des Papes, where the suffering of the heretics who were executed there is still palpable. The starting point for this performance is the medieval body. Fabre shows us the physical and mental wounds which we still carry with us since the Middle Ages. Guilt-ridden religious thinking contrasts shrilly with unfettered natural wisdom. In an attempt to break free from the physical limitations and the taboos (the title can also be read as ‘je suis sans’, ‘I am bereft, without) the bodies have become completely liquid, have become blood, the body’s fuel.
The spectator is confronted with bloody, gruesome, ritualistic scenes of torture, menstruation, castration, exorcisms, orgies, etc. The apocalyptic and grotesque images are populated with brides in white dresses, surgeons, knights... Fabre creates scenes that look as if they were taken from a painting by Brueghel or Hieronymus Bosch. The text, which sounds like a litany, is partly written in Latin and contains references to the works of the twelfth-century mystic, Hildegard von Bingen.
text, scenography, choreography Jan Fabre dramaturgy Miet Martens assistance choreography Renée Copraij actors, dancers, musicians Linda Adami, Tawny Andersen, Vicente Arlandis, Dimitri Brusselmans, Katrien Bruyneel, Sylvia Camarda, Annabelle Chambon, Cédric Charron, Sebastien Cneude, Anny Czupper, Stijn Dickel, Els Deceukelier, Barbara De Coninck, Olivier Dubois, Ivana Jozic, Marina Kaptijn, Guillaume Marie, Laura Mas Sauri, Dirk Roofthooft, Maria Stamenkovic-Herranz, Georgina Teunissen, Geert Vaes, Maarten Van Cauwenberghe, Helmut Van den Meersschaut translations Olivier Taymans (French), Luc De Coninck (Latin) light design Jan Dekeyser, Jan Fabre costumes Daphne Kitschen, Jan Fabre costume assistant Ingrid Van Hove, Gaiska Torrealba technical coordination Harry Cole technicians Jelle Moerman, Gaiska Torrealba props Elsemieke Scholte sound The Image & Sound Factory assistant dramaturgy Hendrik Tratsaert production manager Hilde Vanhoutte
music "Les joyeux bouchers", Boris Vian/Jimmy Walter, copyright Fondation Boris Vian; "Cold Turkey ", John Lennon, copyright 1969 Northern Songs Ltd, produced by John and Yoko; "Son of a preacher man", John Hurley/Ronnie Wilkins, copyright 1968 Phonogram Ltd London, produced by Wexler, Downd and Martin; autres compositions par Dag Taeldeman, Maarten Van Cauwenberghe, Danny Dupont et Sebastien Cneude
with thanks to Mr. De Coninck, Mr. and Mrs. Michel Espeel.
production retake 2005 and retake 2007 Troubleyn / Jan Fabre (Antwerp / Belgium)
production retake 2003 Troubleyn / Jan Fabre (Antwerp / Belgium), in co-production with Festival d'Estiu de Barcelona GREC 2003 (Spain), Festival d'Avignon (France), Melbourne Festival (Australia) and deSingel (Antwerp, Belgium)
production creation 2001 Troubleyn / Jan Fabre (Antwerp / Belgium), in co-production Festival d'Avignon (France), deSingel (Antwerp) in collaboration with muziektheater Transparant (Antwerp)
première 20.07.2001, Cour d'Honneur, Festival d'Avignon, Avignon
