Rumba

L’âne et le bœuf de la crèche de Saint François sur le parking du supermarché

Ascanio Celestini
David Murgia

David Murgia is a familiar figure at the Théâtre National. His artistic journey is already marked by creations on our boards, with Raoul Collectif, showcased in 2023·2024. As well as Laïka and Pueblo, the first two works of the “trilogy of the poor devils”, his offering with the Italian author Ascanio Celestini. Rumba now closes this triptych, a veritable stroll taken through the outskirts of our cities, alongside some vulnerable characters, ingeniously tinkering even with the paving.

This time, the story unfolds on Christmas night, under a starry sky. The tales evoke the silhouettes of those whom we are determined to ignore, while the background depicts a contemporary version of the story of Saint Francis of Assisi. If he were born in 1982, instead of in 1182, whom would he meet along the way? And what crib scene would he create in the supermarket parking lot, among the rubbish bins?

On the stage, the words of Celestini and the intensity of David Murgia construct in a humorous and poetic way the images and stories of the poor devils: characters who daily achieve the miracle of standing erect in the world.

Première
Coproduction Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles
Copresentation Théâtre de Poche, Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles