COMING UP AT THE TROUBLEYN LABORATORIUM ANTWERP
Language: Spanish Spoken / English Surtitles
TICKETS: € 10,00 / € 8,00
| Saturday 14 December (14:00 - 20:00) | TICKETS |
The performance is 6 hours long with no intermission.
Audience members are invited to come and go from the theatre as they please.
Light snacks (chips, chocolate, fruit) and drinks are available for purchase from our bar before, during & after the performance.
GOD'S LOST SONS
Although beneath the earth
my loving body may lie,
write to me on earth,
so that I can reply.
- Miguel Hernández
La Casa de Asterión brings to the stage an orgiastic celebration of horror—a six-hour triptych—a radical, ritualistic performance that unearths the dark history of a leftist family from Alicante. Spanning from the 1940s to today, this work explores three formative epochs in Spain’s collective experience: the oppressive era of Francoism, the upheaval of the Transition, and the challenges of contemporary democracy. At its heart, it is a tale of remembrance and erasure, of those who remember and those remembered, as well as those who do not remember and those who are forgotten.
Set against the backdrop of País Valencià, a land born from cruel Spain and the gentle Mediterranean, the performance traverses the cities of Alicante, Valencia, and Benidorm. Here unfolds the tragedy of Alexandre Rodríguez I Fons, known as Àlex, his brother Alvaro, their parents, and their grandparents—a family whose fate has been marked by a century of cannibalism, tenderness, and haunting memory. These three “plagues” consume and define them, shaping their histories, their love.
Yet this story transcends a personal saga, diving deep into three universal myths that resonate across time and place. Through the cosmological myth, we witness the origins of 20th-century Spain and the forces that shaped it. The moral myth confronts the boundary between pleasure and suffering, questioning the nature of desire and pain. Lastly, the eschatological myth contemplates the end of the world, the fading of memory, and the ultimate decay of legacy.
In this intense, sacrificial performance, La Casa de Asterión places its actors at the heart of this ritual, transforming the stage into a living memory. The performers embody the family’s suffering and transformation, creating a visceral storytelling experience that blurs the lines between the past and the present and urges us to bear witness to a legacy both haunting and unforgettable.
IN THE PRESS
“A raw and blood-soaked performance, at times unpleasant, spitting bile from a nakedness—both literal and figurative—stripped of artifices.” - Oriol Osán, Núvol
“They’ll be blown away by such inexhaustible theatrical power.” - Jordi Bordes, Recomana
“A theatrical experience that prompts reflection on life, love, and art, while simultaneously mocking them.” - Martí Figueras, Núvol
Text & direction: Alexandre Rodríguez I Fons
Production: La casa de Asterión
Performed by: Júlia Barragán, Ariane Millet, Albert Miró, Júlia Morella, Isabella Moretti, Christian Paretas & Alexandre Rodríguez i Fons
Assistant Director: Marcel Solé Casas
Set Design: Roger Badia Rafart & Yaiza Ares
Lighting: Andrés Piza
Assistant: Hector Vidondo
Mask: Antonina Obrador
Promotional Image: Kiku Piñol
Residency at Troubleyn/Jan Fabre
With sincere thanks to Fabra i Coats Fabrica de Creació and Troubleyn/Jan Fabre
The company gets its name from the beautiful Borges tale.
With its roots in sweet Valencia,
between grotesque Spain and the tender Mediterranean;
its headquarters in Barcelona,
and its sight over old Europe.
Our work is inspired by the great Valencian and Spanish masters,
sons of Cervantes, Martorell and Valle-Inclán.
Considering theatre as the last sacral space.
And the performer as a quixotic being: demented in his actions, clairvoyant in his words.
Proud pupils of the Jan Fabre/Troubleyn Laboratorium.
