Theater
Le Raz de Marée
About Le Raz de Marée
LE RAZ DE MAREE is set at the sea. There is a house by the sea. Here lives an amorous couple, a man and a woman. They have nicely appointed their lives: a beautiful setting, time together, time for themselves. But, one morning, bodies have washed up on the beach, a few adults first, then a child. He does what he can to continue his life as undisturbedly as possible. She becomes increasingly affected by what happened. While the loving couple used to be so good at being together in silence, their silence has now become an abyss of incomprehension.
The author Clara van den Broek and Paul Verrept
Paul Verrept (1963) is a writer, draftsman and graphic designer. He writes for adults and children. He often collaborates with theater makers. Recent productions are ‘The towers of Beirout’ (Transparant/Moussem), Earth Diver (Transparant/Rührtiënnale), Flow my tears (Theater Luzern), ’The world’ (Stap) and ’The lost object’ (De Roovers). He won different prices, especially the Gouden Uil and the Boekenwelp.
The director Collective work
The staging is the fruit of the collaboration between Clara van den Broek, Paul Verrept and Eric Engels. Clara is part of the Antwerp based theatre collective SKaGeN, that has been producing highly successful plays in Flanders and the world since 2000. The SKaGeN productions toured internationally in more than 20 countries worldwide.
English subtitles for performances from July 5 to 10.
Press
"An intense trip through the heart and conscience of a woman. Verrept has the washed up bodies slowly drive a wedge between the two occupants of the white house by the sea. The once so perfect, quiet, tender love bends, cracks and breaks. Van den Broek demonstrates that especially with a frown, an intonation, a motion while she talks about the actions that arrise from that bending, cracking and breaking. [...] You empathize. You recognize the will to do something for the stranded people, but also the inability (or unwillingness) to actually do so. [...] Le raz de marée muses about how we deal with the flood of emotions, people and images in this Europe, without wanting to be do-gooders. Paul Verrept sought and found words that are pregnant with intimacy and passion, but also falter from helplessness. His text carries Le raz de marée and has Van den Broek excel in intimacy and sobriety."
"A drama about refugees: it’s increasingly present on our stages. But what do we really know about them? Paul Verrept is turning the logic around. He has written a beautiful text about the impact of stranded asylum seekers on a western couple. Clara van den Broek plays the female voice in this silent but very precise monologue. [...] Le raz de marée is spoken poetry rather than expressive theatre. But this silence is also the force. It’s pretty clever how Verrept - with a few well-chosen metaphors - links a broken love to the sinking of the refugees. So the woman says: “Our boat is sinking. You fall overboard. And I end up in the water myself.” Grabbing you by the throat."
