Bagaar is based on the film Coup de torchon (1981) by Bertrand Tavernier, which tells the story of a disrupted community of white colonialists in an African country right before the Second World War breaks out.
In this adaptation, the story is situated in a not-too-distant future on an island where those who ‘flee’ are brought together until a decision is made about whether they can go to the continent or not. But the continent has already kept its borders firmly closed for years. Relief workers and military personnel are on their own when it comes to keeping everything running. Society sinks into moral laxity.
The headman of the island, Lucien Cordier, is a weakling, the laughingstock of the town, who turns a blind eye to the corruption all around him. Until something in him snaps. Without any scruples, he starts ridding himself of everyone who gets in his way.
The production is a confrontation between scenographic precision and boisterous, raw playfulness, between literary seriousness and seeming capriciousness, between a well-thought-out design and an anarchistic approach.
Populated with grotesque characters in extreme situations and full of sharp repartee, the universe of Bagaar balances on the edge of the abyss. Biting social criticism mixes with black humour in an uneasy fable about the moral bankruptcy of a society which is extremely similar to ours.
In this collaboration, the highly visual theatre idiom of Toneelhuis director Guy Cassiers and the light-hearted playfulness of LAZARUS come together. The result is a dazzling staging of grotesque scenes, among other things in which Koen De Graeve and Charlotte Vandermeersch eagerly present caricatures. These actors make an excellent team. Their mannerisms, their flirting, their affected French and stuttering English are equally tragicomic and oppressive in the claustrophobic setting.
"So it’s obvious that the Cassiers-LAZARUS marriage has been a good one for both parties, certainly in terms of form. The people from LAZARUS inject the stylized literary stage idiom of Cassiers with a welcome dose of fun and foolishness. In turn, thanks to a firm and consistent approach, the talents of the Lazaruses come into full play."
"For the theatrical adaptation of the classic Coup de Torchon, the LAZARUS collective is working with director Guy Cassiers for the first time. And that’s a boost."
Downloads
after
- Coup de torchon van Bertrand Tavernier, Jean Aurenche
by
- Guy Cassiers
- LAZARUS
director
- Guy Cassiers
co-direction
- Pieter Genard
dramaturgy
- Erwin Jans
adaptation
- wordt collectief gemaakt
with
- Katelijne Damen
- Koen De Graeve
- Marianne Loots
- Günther Lesage
- Ryszard Turbiasz
- Joris Van den Brande
- Charlotte Vandermeersch
scenography
- Tim Van Steenbergen
costumes
- Karen De Wolf
light design
- Fabiana Piccioli
coproduction
- Toneelhuis
- ARSENAAL/LAZARUS
with the support of
- Casa Kafka Pictures Tax Shelter powered by Belfius
- Tax Shelter maatregel v/d Belgische Federale Overheid
production
- Toneelhuis
