aai (4+) / DE MAAN

pet pet. pet pet. ... pet? … peeeeeet? 'aai' is about a grandpa who is suddenly alone and seeks comfort in the objects around him. People come in. People leave again. But who is real? He no longer knows where he is, when he is, and why he is. Did the lamp just wave? And the carpet sneezed? Aiaiaai. Poor grandpa. But fortunately, it is not all doom and gloom, because man in his loneliness is also hilarious, touching, and magical. Femke Stallaert started for aai from the figures she saw her grandfather with dementia in the last years of his life. 'aai' is a wordless mask performance where everyday objects come to life. A skin-hungry trip full of alienated family and imaginary friends. An animistic ode to the lonely human and his boundless imagination! PRESS: “From a trembling grandpa in his chair, close to death, director Femke Stallaert makes a rousing celebration of human imagination, by making his whole room come alive. She shows puppet theater at full strength. [...] If theater says it can appeal to all ages, then this performance is the living proof of that.” (Pzazz) Winner of the Boze Wolf prize for the BEST PERFORMANCE at the International BOZE WOLF Puppet Theater Festival 2024. DE MAAN continues to rise. Congratulations on this production in which the unique first comes across as strange, becomes universal in a magical way, and gives the imagination the power it has within it. [...] The masks, the costumes, the living puppets, the surprise effects in the lighting,... They are as it were three-dimensional images that come from a magic lantern. A warm and layered performance in which content and form are one. (from the jury report) CREDITS: Acting: Kazanga Jonathan Linga, Tomas Pevenage and Benjamin Mouchette Regie: Femke Stallaert Muziek: Kazanga Jonathan Linga Extern eye: Gorges Ocloo, Greet Jacobs Atelier: Benjamin Mouchette, Paul Contryn, Katinka Heremans Techniek, light design, execution decor: Dominique Defossez, Stéphane Vloebergh Productieleiding: Noor de Graaf Productie: DE MAAN Co-production: Perpodium, with support of the Tax Shelter of the Belgische Federale Overheid and Cronos Invest Met thanks to: Jack Romans, Willem Rys, Marketa Skarban, Katrien Van Craenenbroeck, Margootje Van Ransbeeck