Maria et les oiseaux (histoires de Belgique) • Thomas Depryck Antoine Laubin De Facto • Théâtre National

Through the eyes of Maria, born in 1927, and her descendants, a broad, ambitious account is produced, in which History, on the grand scale - the royal question, issues of colonisation, language and religious quarrels - combines with personal destinies.

What is it that shapes the collective memory of a country? Is there a shared Belgian identity? What does the History of this region reveal to us about those who inhabit it? These are only some of the questions that populate the vibrant work of Antoine Laubin and Thomas Depryck. Because the fictitious village of Wallonie, where the story of Maria and her family unfolds from 1945 to our time, reflects Belgium’s own upheavals. But Maria et les oiseaux, without being didactic, draws us to discover a romantic fabric, both personal and collective in nature.

The performance rests on a generously staged structure, relying on the variety of situations, set on various levels of stage, very close to the audience. A flamboyant cast of eleven performers of various ages and origins brings this polyphonic, entertaining and lavish saga to life. Four hours from a theatre company, bringing to life an era, a country and above all individual lives.

Coproduction Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles
Copresentation Les Martyrs, KVS, Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles

Tickets will also be on sale through our partners.

Les Martyrs

Information

Venue

Grande salle

Duration

5hr (with intermission)

Language

fr surtitling nl

Price

10€ > 24€

Cast

With
Adrien Drumel
Anaïs Moray
Axel Cornil
Brandon Kano Butare
Caroline Berliner
Consolate Sipérius
Gaetan Lejeune
Madeleine Camus
Renaud Van Camp
Sarah Lefèvre
Valérie Bauchau

Text and dramaturgy
Thomas Depryck
Antoine Laubin

Concept and direction
Antoine Laubin
assisted by
Quentin Simon

Scenography
Noémie Warion
with the insight of
Sabine Durand

Painters
Camille Burckel
Eugénie Obolensky

Set construction
Ateliers of the Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles

Costume design
Noémie Warion

Costume team
Elise Abraham (assistant)
Lola Barrett (intern)
Chloé Dilasser
Ateliers of the Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles

Lighting design
Laurence Halloy

Sound design, general stage management and technical direction
Benoit Pelé

Stage management and scenography assistance
Clara Dumont

Stage management
Paul Gosset

Sound management
Célia Naver

Lighting management
Julien Vernay

Production
Camille Lefèvre and Annabelle Kihoulou
for De Facto

Development advice
Julien Sigard

Production
De Facto

Co-producers
La Maison de la culture de Tournai, Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles, MARS – Mons Arts de la Scène, Central-La Louvière, Le Centre des Arts Scéniques, La Coop asbl and Shelter Prod

With the support of
taxshelter.be, ING and the tax shelter of the Belgian federal government

This show is produced in partnership with La Sonuma – Les archives audiovisuelles; it benefited from multi-annual development support from the Ministry of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles – Service du Théâtre for the years 2022 and 2023 (research, writing and production) and from two residencies at La Chartreuse de Villeneuve-lez-Avignon – Centre National des écritures du spectacle

Acknowledgements
Paul Aron, Claire Bodson, Anne-Emmanuelle Bourgaux, Julie Capitan Fernandez, Leila Charaani, Coraline Clément, Roxane De Leener, Youri Dirckx, Joséphine Dropuljic, Frédéric Dussenne, Héloïse Jadoul, Veronika Mabardi, Christine Mahy, Brice Mariaule, Albert Moléon, Jérôme Nayer, Lily Noël, Jean-Marie Piemme, Hervé Piron, Vincent Romain, Prunelle Rulens, Caroline Sägesser, Eline Schumacher, Oliver Simon, Lode Thiery, Alexandre Trocki, Pierre Verplancken, Rika Weniger, Martine Wijckaert, as well as Théâtre Varia, the Municipality of Ixelles and Maxima (Communa asbl)

De Facto is one of the contract-programmed companies of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles for the period 2024–2028.

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