After their much-discussed, spectacular production Van den vos (About Reynard the Fox), FC Bergman made a location-based production with just the six core members of its company.
"The FC Bergman theatre-makers and actors set themselves the challenge of telling stories without words, and they succeeded masterfully, thanks to ingenious images. The right energy, acrobatics and stillness make for a hilarious and melancholy show. With a mix of poetry, slapstick, cinematic images and their typical anarchistic theatre language, they take the spectators with them in a succession of stories of varying lengths." – Lotte Philipsen in Focus Knack, 5 May 2015
FC Bergman drew inspiration from the majestic Rubens’ Gallery at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp to tell a gripping story about this museum gallery, its works, and above all the people who seek solace and shelter in the museum.
In Het land Nod the small naked human being seeks the protection of the huge walls of the museum. This produces some fascinating images, which make even a less stratified FC Bergman show an impressive experience.
"In this set, in the bare light of eternity, human figures are too small for the task for which life conceived them. This is particularly well illustrated by Stef Aerts, who plays a museum employee in grey overalls with a degenerating sense of duty. His folding measuring stick proves too short for the measurements of history. His sledgehammer is too heavy, his ladder too unsteady to cope with the walls of his existence. (...) In this atmospheric, scriptless production, FC Bergman measures up to the greats: the mystical naturalism of Romeo Castellucci, the disconsolate absurdism of Christoph Marthaler, and the dancing dynamics of Pina Bausch. And all that gives Het land Nod visual grandeur."
"Like the French film directors in the 1960s, the FC Bergman theatre-makers are triggering a new wave on the theatre scene. Parallels include their youthful enthusiasm and innovative language."
by and with
- Bart Hollanders
- Joé Agemans
- Marie Vinck
- Stef Aerts
- Matteo Simoni
- Thomas Verstraeten
light design
- FC Bergman
- Ken Hioco
sound design
- Diederik De Cock
- FC Bergman
production
- Toneelhuis
- Toneelhuis
with the support of
- Stad Antwerpen
thanks to
- AGFA Graphics
- PRG Belgium
- Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen