THE NURSING HOME OF THE BEARS | Menzo Kircz, Jeff Aendenboom & Stefan Gota

In Roemenië are nursing homes where old bears live. Bears from the circus or that had to dance in the market square. In those nursing homes, the bears try to unlearn their old tricks. When the bears start to resist the coercion of the circus, it turns out that this has long since penetrated their daily lives. The spectacle, but also the danger and violence are part of their reality. The only way to free themselves from this is by breaking with it themselves. But how can you unlearn something if you have never done otherwise? And how do you escape the circus if you are both the animal and the tamer? Het Rusthuis of the Bears is a visual, musical performance about old circus tricks and toxic learned behavior. About perpetration, trauma, and cyclical violence. A performance about breaking expectations and the search for yourself. Concept: Menzo Kircz & Stefan Gota • creation and acting: Stefan Gota, Jeff Aendenboom, Ali Can Ünal • creation and direction: Menzo Kircz • dramaturgy: Kim Snauwaert • costume: Lisanne Bovée • light: Kato Ooms • decor: Giovani Vanhoenacker • coaching: Jef Van Gestel • in collaboration with: Antigone and Festival Cement • made possible by: TransfoCollect, Teatrul Godot & De Grote Post