Oh My Special Hat (3+)

A wonderful music box that unfolds into a city full of extraordinary families. ‘AMAI SPECIAAL CHAPEAU’ starts from a simple but powerful thought: families exist in all shapes and sizes. It is a playful ode to everything that is ‘different’. I have two houses. AMAI. Above one of my houses live two dinosaurs, who are adopted. Next to my other house live three grandmothers, there is a lot of telephoning there. The cranes live in between, that is a blended family. SPECIAAL. The people in my city form wonderful families with always an extra plate of food, a shoulder of comfort to spare, and a pancake ritual! CHAPEAU! Karlien Torfs and Nikolas Lestaeghe create a performance rooted in their own lives, a life in which they, as good friends, raise a daughter together. From the many questions people have about their family structure and their ambition to question the ‘normal’, ‘AMAI SPECIAAL CHAPEAU’ arises. In a world where the house-garden-child-family is becoming the norm again, they look for ways to shape their own lives in their reality that does not align with this model. They make the performance for their daughter, who was three years old at the time of the premiere, and for all other three-year-olds. Press “No matter how exuberantly versatile it unfolds, you won't catch it in empty arbitrariness. ‘AMAI SPECIAAL CHAPEAU’ is not merely creative animation ‘for kids’, but above all a project for the makers that their heart is in. You can feel that. You can also notice that in the ingenuity behind every detail, such as the sheep that bleat ‘meieiei’ and ‘weieiei’ at each other from two separate mountain peaks: the entire individualization and polarization of this era in one image. Yes, that's possible! Thoughtful simplicity without simplism or essentialism: that is what toddler theater makes special. This performance by De Maan and 4hoog has it all.”- Wouter Hillaert, Pzazz Concept and cast Karlien Torfs and Nikolas Lestaeghe | Eindregie Simon D'Huyvetter | Figuren Paul Contryn and Katinka Heremans | Decorontwerp Paul Contryn, Nikolas Lestaeghe and Karlien Torfs | Decorbouw Stéphane Vloebergh | Lighting design and technique Aaron Bruyninckx | Muziekcompositie Leen Diependaele and Bart Van Lierde | Productieleiding Noor de Graaf | Production DE MAAN and 4Hoog | Coproductie Perpodium | With support from the Tax Shelter of the Belgische Federale Overheid and BESIDE