BIGMOUTH

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Theatre

Feb 11, 8 PM: Opening
Feb 12, 13, 16 – 20: 8 PM
Feb 14, 20, 21: 2 PM

The sell-out hit of the Edinburgh Fringe from one of Europe’s hottest theatre companies. In a tour de force performance that has received universal critical acclaim, Valentijn Dhaenens weaves together seminal speeches from everyone from the Grand Inquisitor and Socrates to Mohammed Ali and Osama Bin Laden, paying tribute to 2,500 years of oration.

The draw: With just five microphones and his voice, Dhaenens, shows us that the tricks of the trade have hardly changed…

“Over the course of a year I promised myself to read at least one speech a day,” says creator/performer Valentijn Dhaenens. “Doing so, I read more than a thousand speeches that year. I tried not to force speeches to relate to one another but simply put them on stacks hoping that one day they would start communicating with each other. For instance, there were 5 months between the reading of Goebbel’s ‘Totaler Krieg’ speech and the moment I ran into the Patton-speech. I learned that that they were given at about the same time, saying exactly the same thing to exactly the same kind of people in a very different manner. Those speeches were begging to be interweaved with one another and become a massive go-to-war-appeal.

One of the key moments in the development of the show came when I had just memorized the funeral oration of Pericles (around 400BC) and at night watched the television news and saw French President Sarkozy (who had just lost 10 soldiers in Afghanistan) repeating about the same words. A few months later I added King Boudewijn’s abduction speech right after Pericles. The last one talking to the parents of literally thousands killed lying there at his feet. The first one refusing to sign an abortion law, fighting for the even unborn single life.”

Direction & Performance Valentijn Dhaenens. Light & Sound Design Jeroen Wuyts. Costume Design Barbara De Laere. Production Management Saskia Liénard

RAVE REVIEWS:

“A bit of Bush and bin Laden…BigMouth lets talkers across time have their say” — The New York Times

“★★★★ Brilliant … a fascinating experience” —Guardian (UK)

“Enthralling roller-coaster through history and its (in)humanity by one-man powerhouse Valentijn Dhaenens” — The List Magazine (UK)

“No review can do justice to this spectacular, nay unique piece of theatre…His one-man bravura performance isn’t simply a testimony to his linguistic and dramatic versatility, but to a remarkable research effort to identify extracts from important and forgotten oratory that sum up key moments, reflect turning points in history, or sharply contrast good and evil” —Edinburgh Guide

“Some of the speeches are painfully personal and some are painfully embarrassing. But all of them are extremely clarifying. Besides the strength of the content, BigMouth presents itself as an indispensable lesson in oratory.” – Knack Magazine (Belgium)

BIOGRAPHIES:

VALENTIJN DHAENENS
After obtaining a Master’s Degree in Dramatic Arts at the Royal Conservatory in Antwerp, Valentijn co-founded the theater company SKaGeN. From 2006, the company has been rewarded with structural subsidisation from the Flemish / Belgian Government for their work as one of the leading modern theater groups in Belgium and Holland.

Outside SKaGeN he has worked extensively as an actor in over 30 productions for Belgium’s major companies such as NTGent, Kaaitheater Brussels and Ontroerend Goed. His international breakthrough however came with his own written and directed solo-show BigmoutH that is touring extensively major festivals and venues worldwide. A follow up called SmallWaR was presented at the Edinburgh festival 2014 and the Adelaide Festival 2015 and will also be touring through 2016.

Aside from his theatre work, Valentijn is a sought-after narrator for documentaries such as The boy is gone by Christophe Bohn.

Occasionally he is a guest lecturer at Belgian and Dutch theatre schools.

To a broader audience, Valentijn is best known for his acting in several TV shows and films. Most notably for his lead-role in De helaasheid der dingen / The Misfortunates by Felix Van Groeningen which won numerous prizes worldwide such as the Prix Art et Essai at the Cannes Film Festival 2009.

SKAGEN
SKaGeN is a theatre company that has been producing highly successful plays in Flanders and the Netherlands since 2000, both on the art circuit and the more public-oriented festival circuit (e.g. Summer in Antwerp, Theatre on the Market). This success derives from its combination of high artistic standards and accessibility. SKaGeN was formed by members of a class that graduated from the renowned Antwerp Conservatory, headed by a lion of Flemish theatre, Dora van der Groen, and the internationally acclaimed theatre and opera director Ivo Van Hove. The group has developed into one of the leading theatre companies of its generation. www.skagen.be

RICHARD JORDAN PRODUCTIONS LTD
Richard Jordan is an Olivier and TONY award-winning producer. His London-based company Richard Jordan Productions Ltd was founded in 1998 and has produced over 180 productions in the UK as well as 18 other countries, including 54 world premieres and 59 European, Australian or US premieres enjoying associations with many of the world’s leading theatres and arts organisations.