LOCO
« A play for two performers in a sober and intelligent staging, a razor-sharp writing that admirably plays with the symbolic possibilities of the puppet, and an impressive interpretation-manipulation of mastery and nuance. A jewel of precision and poetry. »
Mathieu Dochtermann
Marionnette pour noctambules avisés, Toute la culture
15 mars 2022
The theatrical project Loco is inspired by the Russian author Nikolai Gogol’s short story ‘Diary of a Madman’, by Gogol’s own life and mental illness, and in part by our own experiences.
« All this comes, I think, from the fact that people imagine that the brain is housed in the skull; not at all: it is brought by a wind that blows from the Caspian Sea. »
Dairy of a Madman by Nikolay Vasilievich Gogol
Nikolai Gogol’s ‘Diary of a Madman’ is an absurd tale about the thin line between reason and insanity. The story’s main character is Poprishchin, a lowly civil servant whose life is thrown into turmoil following an encounter with the director’s daughter, Sofi. The love he feels for the inaccessible Sofi sets him on a delirious search for identity. “Maybe I am an earl or a general. Why do I look as if I’m just an insignificant employee? Maybe even I don’t know who I am.” As he puzzles over his status, he is compelled to question and investigate everything – even Sofi’s dog, Meggy. Eventually, madness offers Poprishchin the chance to break free of his miserable lot in life when he proclaims himself Ferdinand VIII, King of Spain. The deception briefly lifts Poprishchin out of his despair, only to plunge him deeper into ruin: the long-awaited ‘Spanish deputation’ will soon arrive to escort their King Ferdinand… to the asylum.
Award DRAC D’OR JULIETA AGUSTÍ for « Best show » from the 34a Fira de Titelles de Lleida en 2023.
Nominated for the Maeterlinck Awards of the Critics (Belgium) in the category « Artistic and technical realization » in 2022.
Award « Best scenic design » by the Círculo de Críticos de Arte de Chile (Chile) in 2022.
Cast & Credits
Direction and dramaturgy Tita Iacobelli and Natacha Belova
Scenography design and puppetry Natacha Belova
Cast by Marta Pereira and Tita Iacobelli
Choreography and outside eye Nicole Mossoux
Assisting dramaturgy and outside eye Raven Rüell
Light creation Christian Halkin
Puppets Loïc Nebreda
Sound Creation Simón González
Costumes Jackye Fauconnier
Scenography and assistantship to the staging Camille Burckel de Tell
Production Company Belova-Iacobelli and Javier Chávez
Artistic Production Daniel Córdova
Lighting Gauthier Poirier dit Caulier
Thanks for the artistic contribution to Sophie Warnant
Coproduction
Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles, Théâtre de Poche Bruxelles, L’Atelier Théâtre Jean Vilar Louvain-la-Neuve, Maison de la Culture de Tournai, Festival Mondial des Théâtres de Marionnettes Charleville-Mézières, Fondation Corpartes Santiago Chili, Le théâtre de la Cité de Toulouse – with the support of the Fedération Wallonie-Bruxelles
Tour
2025
16 > 18 May : Théâtre Silvia Monfort
as part of the Biennale Internationale des Arts de la Marionnette, Paris (France)
24 October : Festival fiGUMA, Eupen (Belgium)
2026
6 February : Festival International de Marionnettes, Belfort (France)
Past Dates
2024
30 May : Le Bordeau, Saint-Genis-Pouilly (France)
15-16 May : Le Senghor Centre Culturel d’Etterbeek, Etterbeek (Belgium)
11-12 May : FIDENA, Bochum (Germany)
3 May : CRAC´S Centre Culturel de Sambreville, Sambreville (Belgium)
24-25 April : Centre culturel de l’Arrondissement de Huy, Huy (Belgium)
10-11 April : Teatro Franco Parenti di Milano, Milan (Italy)
30 March : Centre Culturel Braine-l’Alleud, Braine-l’Alleud (Belgium)
6-7 March : Festival Casteliers, Théâtre Outremont, Montréal (Canada)
2023
8 November : Teatro BioBío, Concepción (Chile)
20 October – 4 November : Théâtre CorpArtes, Santiago (Chile)
7 May : Fira de Teatre de Titelles de Lleida (Spain)
4 May : Materia Magica, Klaipėda (Lithuania)
28-29 March : Centre Culturel de Nivelles (Belgium)
17-18 February : La Vénerie – Espace Delvaux, Brussels (Belgium)
2022
20-21 December : Teatro Due, Parma (Italy)
28 November – 17 December : Théâtre de Poche, Brussels (Belgium)
18 November : Théâtre Antoine Vitez, Ivry (France)
10 November : Théâtre ATP de DAX (France)
8 November : Centre National de la Marionnette Jéliote, Oloron Sainte-Marie (France)
30 September – 1 October : Maison de la Culture de Tournai (Belgium)
8-9 September : Théâtre Marni, Brussels (Belgium)
28-29 June : La Biennale di Venezia – Festival Internazionale del Teatro (Italy)
6-17 April : Théâtre CorpArtes, Santiago (Chile)
12 March : La Nuit de la Marionnette, Théâtre Jean Arp, Clamart (France)
2021
21-30 October : L’Atelier Théâtre Jean Vilar, Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium)
5-9 October : Le Théâtre National de la Fédération Wallonie Bruxelles (Belgium)
29-30 September : Théâtre de la Cité de Toulouse (France)
25-26 September : Festival Mondial des Théâtres de Marionnettes, Charleville-Mézières (France)
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CONTACT
With
Wallonie-Bruxelles Théâtre Danse