32 rue vandenbranden by peeping tom

“peeping tom” is a group located in belgium, in which an argentinian and a french choreographer, gabriela carrizo and franck chartier collectively produce works. carrizo and chartier met while they were working for the famous belgian choreographer and orthopedic therapist alain platel. they gained recognition in europe especially with the triology consisting of le jardin (2001) – le salon (2004) – le sous sol (2007).

in addition to rewards they received with the trilogy, they continued to receive rewards successively and furthermore indulge into new collaborations. their last work “vader” received the best international dance work award of 2014 in barcelona, while their previous work “32 rue vandenbranden” received the best new dance work award in 2015 olivier awards. in may 2015 they produced a work named “the land” with the players of munich residenztheater which is one of the prestigious theater companies of germany. “the missing door” which was staged by carrizo in 2013 under the umbrella of ndt 1 which is one of the most important dance groups not only of holland but also of the world and, the new work of chartier which staged with the same dancers were included in the program of 2015-16 season of ndt1 to be performed successively the same night.

“peeping tom” must have been named after michael powell’s 1960 famous cult film which is about tension, murder and mostly peeping must have inspired carrizo and chartier in creating spooky mediums. of course being -in a sense-“peeped” by the audience is one of the most important tools affecting the mise en scene of the group. if one has to talk about cinema, setting aside powell’s film in “peeping tom”s works, there is in fact a significant influence of david lynch.

although i couldn’t watch the triology which brought them recognition, i am trying to catch their following works. i had the change to watch “a louer” in ludwigshafen germany in november 2013 and “32 rue vandenbranden” in leuven belgium in february last year.

in “32 rue vandenbranden”, carrizo and chartier continue to create disturbed characters who come to life in spooky atmospheres, to deal with hidden oddities in places which look real and to handle prodigiousness sometimes by emphasizing it or analyzing it in depth and to surprise and entertain the audience with situations, emotions and materials which are hard to come together.

confusion starts with the name of the work, it stands like an address in a settlement: “32 rue vandenbranden”: a street name and a house number.

before entering the hall, one thinks that the work can be set in a city, village or a town; but when you enter and see the design in the open stage, you experience your first shock:

an outdoor space covered with snow scattered to the first row of spectator seats; open as far as the eye can see, imperceptible mountain peaks in background, no tree; one caravan in each side; two red oblation candles in the back in the middle… as if you are on the top of a mountain.  a silent, desolate place; so what is this address then?

photo: herman sorgeloos

when the lights are dimmed we first hear the blow of the wind, then church bells, so there must be a town nearby… the lights of the caravans are on, movement starts. a long-haired, old woman is sitting in one of them… a pregnant  not-so-young women coming out of the caravan first sooths the baby with the head of an adult who is crying under -yes under- the caravan then pushes it back to the snow, under the caravan… a young couple is getting off the caravan; it seems that the woman wants to leave the man but she cannot; they entangle to each other, hit each other and then cuddle each other. they are the two halves of a part but they cannot fit together…

after a time, two man come behind the caravans from the side. one of them is on the back of the other and they are carrying luggage in their hands. it is clear that they had walked for a long time and freezing from cold… they are slant-eyed; they are surely strangers. well but what brought them here at the top of the mountain in this freezing cold? coincidence? bad luck? or is this the place they actually wanted to reach?

a young married couple; a not-so-young pregnant woman and her mother? (maybe her sister); two asians, two caravans and two oblation candles…

photo: herman sorgeloos

who is dead, who is alive, who is a djinn… who is good, who is evil… are the events expressed in a linear line or in zig zags… are they real, a dream or a nightmare… what kind of relationships are there between the protagonists? who is related to who… are we in this world or in after death… why are the protagonists this much weird and disturbed?

those who disappear and show up behind the doors… those who curl up their bodies like an elastic ghost that came out from cartoons… those who bend their arms, hands, feet and limbs… those who “float” in the air in a superhuman way… those who can be here and there at the same time; who turn into a bird and get aggressive and then suddenly turn into a human…

a selection of music which includes a woman who performs bellini’s casta diva and pink floyd’s “shine on you crazy diamond” alive at the same level of mastery; a far-eastern folk song and far-eastern pop song and which is not found odd…

in the brochure it says that the play was inspired by shohei imamura’s well-known 1983 film “the ballad of naramaya” film. however, thinking that i have seen that film, this play is related to that film only as a starting point. a story which doesn’t reveal itself easily, loosely woven with lots of emptiness…

perhaps there isn’t a clear-cut story; there are fragments that allow the audience to make up their own stories. and of course there is a great atmosphere… a dark atmosphere which doesn’t lack jokes and irony, which however has an intensive spookiness, uneasiness, loneliness and sadness…

peeping tom deserves to be followed…