Papillon (6+)

What if boredom is the beginning of an adventure? What if playing is the key to freedom? Look with your eyes closed. Do you hear what the stones are whispering to you? You learn it from Papillon, the butterfly, who always finds freedom. The escape king is in town! But nobody knows it. Except you and the other children on the playground. Frans Van der Aa and a choir of 8 to 88 years old occupy a piece of the city. With a distant wink to the world-famous book, Papillon sings, sounds, and tells about playing together, learning to be bored, and secretly escaping. PAPILLON takes you to an enchanted place in the middle of the city — a playground, a park, a corner you might have passed a hundred times… but where something suddenly starts to happen. A child meets a mysterious figure there. Is it the famous escape artist Papillon? Together they discover something that we sometimes lose: how to slow down time, how to daydream… If you build a raft to get off the devil's island, is that to survive, or to play? The child and the old man: they can still learn a lot from each other. PAPILLON is a sung story without many words, but full of music, sound, and images. A choir of children and grandparents fills the air with new music - as recognizable as it is enchanting - while an electronic soundscape creates a magical atmosphere. And you: you are a witness to a poetic escape from urban hardness. PAPILLON is a very free re-reading of the world-famous and filmed book from 1969. The (fairly true) book ‘PAPILLON’ describes the (sometimes invented) story of the escape king with the butterfly tattoo. The man became a legend. Who knows, he might still be wandering around freely? Maybe he is planning his next adventure? PAPILLON is a performance that brings young and old together, on stage and in the audience. Children recognize the play, adults might recognize what they once lost. It is an invitation to look, listen, and let yourself be carried away by the power of music and imagination, and to escape together, if only for a moment. ,