Theatre

JR

FC Bergman, Toneelhuis

In the mid-1970s the New York stock market was dealt a serious blow or at least badly shaken, when out of nowhere a new player took the market by storm. JR Vansandt is sharp, ruthless and... just eleven years old.

Consumed by some moral sense and concealed behind a modest little army of straw men, lawyers and spin doctors, the whippersnapper lays his invisible claw on Wall Street, thus wreaking havoc with the competition, the stock market in general, the American and global political establishment, but also with people who have nothing whatsoever to do with any of this. He would have been Warren Buffet’s worst nightmare, had he really existed.  

William Gaddis is considered one of the most influential writers in American postmodern literature. His experimental magnum opus JR is a complex and at times hilarious satire on capitalism. FC Bergman took this novel as its starting point for its eponymous production about people who are too fragile for the environment in which they find themselves. People who try in vain to shape their lives, failing to separate essentials from inessentials and overreach themselves in their race against eternity.

JR is a site-specific production with a minefield of lives, relationships and incidents as the set.

The production’s kaleidoscopic approach makes for a unique audience experience, one that has you sitting on the edge of your seat throughout. (...) The live film, which everyone can follow, is a gem in itself. (...) Moreover, thanks to the film images, we get to see up-close the highly accomplished acting of aces like Jan Bijvoet, Frank Focketyn, Geert Van Rampelberg, Gene Bervoets, the delightful Anne-Laure Vandeputte from Ghent and the talented, young Kes Bakker.

"JR , FC Bergman’s satire on the destructive nature of capitalism, is a technically masterly and confounding total experience."

Gilles Michiels in De Standaard **** , 24 March 2018

"JR is a trip that knocks the spectator for six. You are besieged by sensations, which are rarely gratuitous. Careful thought has been given to every intervention. Each and every word has been weighed. The montage is incredible. This production runs like a Swiss watch, bravo!"

director

  • Joé Agemans
  • Thomas Verstraeten
  • Stef Aerts
  • Marie Vinck

text

  • William Gaddis

adaptation

  • FC Bergman i.s.m. Bart Van den Eynde en Willem Wallyn

with

  • Joé Agemans
  • Kes Bakker
  • Gene Bervoets
  • Jan Bijvoet
  • Michael De Cock
  • Rashif El Kaoui
  • Frank Focketyn
  • Ella-June Henrard
  • Bart Hollanders
  • Imke Mol
  • Anne-Laure Vandeputte
  • Stijn Van Opstal
  • Junior Mthombeni
  • Geert Van Rampelberg
  • Oscar Van Rompay
  • Marie Vinck
  • Thomas Verstraeten
  • Wolf Verniers
  • e.a.

sound design

  • Senjan Jansen

light design

  • FC Bergman i.s.m. Ken Hioco

costume design

  • Joëlle Meerbergen

production

  • FC Bergman
  • Toneelhuis
  • Toneelhuis

coproduction

  • KVS
  • NTGent
  • Olympique Dramatique

with the support of

  • De Neef Milieu en Chemiegroep
  • Must – Museum voor textiel, Ronse
  • Café Costume
  • Tax Shelter maatregel v/d Belgische Federale Overheid
  • Casa Kafka Pictures Tax Shelter powered by Belfius

thanks to

  • Ludo Teeuwen
  • Bart Grietens
  • Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen
  • Art in Flanders vzw
  • Hugo Maertens
  • opleiding master in het vertalen van de KU Leuven te Brussel

All data

There are no upcoming activities for this event.

  1. Thursday 22 March 2018 — 19h30 — voormalige Electrabelsite, Schelle
  2. Saturday 24 March 2018 — 19h30 — voormalige Electrabelsite, Schelle
  3. Sunday 25 March 2018 — 19h30 — voormalige Electrabelsite, Schelle
  4. Tuesday 27 March 2018 — 19h30 — voormalige Electrabelsite, Schelle
  5. Wednesday 28 March 2018 — 19h30 — voormalige Electrabelsite, Schelle
  6. Thursday 29 March 2018 — 19h30 — voormalige Electrabelsite, Schelle
  7. Friday 30 March 2018 — 19h30 — voormalige Electrabelsite, Schelle
  8. Saturday 31 March 2018 — 19h30 — voormalige Electrabelsite, Schelle
  9. Tuesday 5 June 2018 — 19h00 — Floraliënhal, Gent
  10. Wednesday 6 June 2018 — 19h00 — Floraliënhal, Gent
  11. Thursday 7 June 2018 — 19h00 — Floraliënhal, Gent
  12. Friday 8 June 2018 — 19h00 — Floraliënhal, Gent
  13. Saturday 9 June 2018 — 19h00 — Floraliënhal, Gent
  14. Saturday 16 June 2018 — 19h00 — Centrale Markthal, Amsterdam
  15. Sunday 17 June 2018 — 19h00 — Centrale Markthal, Amsterdam
  16. Monday 18 June 2018 — 19h00 — Centrale Markthal, Amsterdam
  17. Friday 12 April 2019 — 19h00 — La Villette, Paris
  18. Saturday 13 April 2019 — 19h00 — La Villette, Paris
  19. Sunday 14 April 2019 — 16h00 — La Villette, Paris
  20. Monday 15 April 2019 — 19h00 — La Villette, Paris
  21. Tuesday 16 April 2019 — 19h00 — La Villette, Paris
  22. Cancelled: Wednesday 18 March 2020 — 19h00 — Paleis 12, Brussel
  23. Cancelled: Friday 20 March 2020 — 19h00 — Paleis 12, Brussel
  24. Cancelled: Saturday 21 March 2020 — 19h00 — Paleis 12, Brussel
  25. Cancelled: Sunday 22 March 2020 — 15h00 — Paleis 12, Brussel

News about ‘JR’

FC Bergman receives prestigious Silver Lion from La Biennale di Venezia Read • 17 June 2023

FC Bergman receives prestigious Silver Lion from La Biennale di Venezia

We are very proud to announce that FC Bergman, which authors productions that represent an original blend of cinema, literature and the visual arts, has been awarded the Silver Lion. The Lions were approved by the Board of Directors of La Biennale di Venezia and recommended by the Directors of the Theatre Department Stefano Ricci and Gianni Forte (ricci/forte). The awards ceremony will take place on June 17th during the 51st International Theatre Festival which will be held from June 15h to July 1st 2023 in Venice.

FC Bergman returns to its roots as a location theatre company Read • 24 June 2022

FC Bergman returns to its roots as a location theatre company

They are surprisingly young to be called 'long-serving’. And yet FC Bergman will be celebrating its tenth anniversary as a resident Toneelhuis company in 2023. The four artists (Stef Aerts, Marie Vinck, Joé Agemans, Thomas Verstraeten) were fledglings when they knocked on the doors of the Bourla Theatre in 2011 to come make the show 300 el x 50 el x 30 el. And yes, they invited themselves.

JR SURTITLED IN ENGLISH Read • 6 March 2018

JR SURTITLED IN ENGLISH

The performance of JR (FC Bergman) on location in Schelle will be surtitled in English on 30 and 31 March 2018.

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