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Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles

Le Dîner

Jean-Michel Frère, Cie Victor B

14 > 18.12.2021
Theatre

Part Festen, part A Clockwork Orange, the family dinner will not go off as planned. Two brothers and their spouses get together in an upscale restaurant. Serge, a politician destined for great things, and Paul, retired history professor who is very critical of his brother’s thirst for power. What brings them together: an unmentionable act committed by their two sixteen-year-old sons. 

How far can one go to protect one’s children? That is the key question of Dutch author Herman Koch’s novel Le Dîner which Jean-Michel Frère chose to adapt. The play examines the characters beyond appearances, searches the conscience, calls forth the roots of the violence with an especially theatrical device: a closed world cut into five acts, with a progressive structure and a deconstructed narrative. No classic restaurant scene but an engagement of the audience to get it questioning itself, to discover, through concentric circles the magnitude of the drama. With a virtuosic language and with razor sharp dialogues Le Dîner is a mirror through which we recognize our daily irritations and our most cruel dilemmas.

Calendar

  • - 20:30
  • - 20:30
  • - 20:30
  • - 20:30
  • - 20:30

Information

Language

FR

Venue

Studio

Duration

80'

Cast

From
Het Diner de Herman Koch (Ambo/Anthos Uitgever B.V.)

Translated from Dutch by
Isabelle Rosselin

Adapation & Direction
Jean-Michel Frère

With
Lara Persain
Nicolas Buysse

Digital artists
Superbe (Gaël Bertrand & Gaëtan Libertiaux)

Scenography
Justine De Mesmaeker

Sound
Sébastien Courtoy

Video direction & lights
Gwen Laroche

A project of
Compagnie Victor B.

Co-production
Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles, Théâtre de Namur

Sets construction
Ateliers du Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles, Ateliers du Théâtre de Namur

© Caroline Lessire
Le Rideau de saison, Maak & Transmettre · photo : Lucile Dizier, 2024