venue: Prague Planetarium, Královská obora 233, Praha 7
Flemish writer Pieter De Buysser has created a show for the planetarium building. A cosmological story about portable particle mirrors, cosmic whirlwinds, black holes and star systems, as well as about Raymond and Grace. A philanthropist endowed with an enormous amount of faith in progress and possessing a speech defect undertakes to build a spacecraft. The story traverses a pronounced curve in space-time, including a little girl who is tired of the Messiah and a lost detective that no one is looking for anymore. A portable particle accelerator, whirlpools in the China Sea, a dozen nebulous spirals and a majestic black hole gradually cause the tension to surmount… Because, as fabulous as they might be, all the elements in this planetary show are inspired by today’s political and scientific reality. The Tip of the Tongue is an exploration of borders for nationalists, a local geography lesson for cosmopolitans and a cosmology lecture for pioneers of a new world image.
“[…] Even more vertiginous are the projections on the dome of the planetarium, which we stare at as we lean back in our comfortable seats. It begins as a comic PowerPoint in the four corners, but ends as a cosmic immersion in 360 degrees. Look: yet again this was genuinely a new theatre experience!” ****
(Filip Tielens, De Standaard, 8 May 2017)
“A clear line is becoming apparent in the work of Pieter De Buysser: the playful blending of fact and fiction, the fascination for protest and revolution, the testing of physical and mental borders. In his latest show too, The Tip of the Tongue, he shows what he is good at: making complex material understandable in a clear manner, interweaving theoretical insight and unbridled fantasy, and above all, telling a good story.” […]
“De Buysser demonstrates his qualities as a writer in the smooth, credible way in which he tells this fabulous story. The planetarium is a rewarding setting for it.
(Jan Dertaelen, Etcetera, 15 May 2017)
“A marvellous argument to think and act without borders.”
(Els Van Steenberghe, Knack Focus, 29 May 2017)
Credits
Text, direction and performance: Pieter De Buysser / https://www.pieterdebuysser.com/nl/
Scenography: Herman Sorgeloos
Full dome video: Elias Heuninck
Scientific advice: Kurt Vanhoutte (University Antwerp)
Dramaturgy: Esther Severi
Sound: Yoerik Roevens
Translation English: Jodie Hruby
Translation French: Anne Vanderschueren
Subtitles: Marie Trincaretto
Assistance subtitles/video: Jonas Beerts
Financial advice: Roger Christmann
Production: ROBIN
Coproduction: Kunstenfestivaldesarts Brussels (B), KaaitheatervBrussels (B), Stiftung Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin (D), Théâtre Nanterre-Amandiers Paris (FR), Archa Theatre Prague (CZ)
With the support of The Flemish Government, The Flemish Community in Brussels, PARS (Performing Astronomy Research Society, F), the French Ministry for Culture and Communication and Flanders Literature
Thanks to Laboratorium & Herculeslab of KASK / School of Arts of University College Ghent (B), Sophie D’Hoore and Sarah Vanagt
