The Flood is set at the sea. There is a house by the sea. Here lives an amorous couple, a man and a woman. They have nicely appointed their lives: a beautiful setting, time together, time for themselves. But, one morning, bodies have washed up on the beach, a few adults first, then a child.
He does what he can to continue his life as undisturbedly as possible. She becomes increasingly affected by what happened. While the loving couple used to be so good at being together in silence, their silence has now become an abyss of incomprehension. Maybe she could have saved the child - could have held it in her arms - she thinks, if only he had helped her? Or is she actually being cowardly, and is she blaming him as an excuse for her not having acted? Why doesn’t he say something?
The Flood is about our (in)ability to empathize with the other, about how we behave when something threatens our happiness, about the impact of the world on our private lives.
Paul Verrept wrote the text. Clara van den Broek is playing.
Els Van Steenberghe – Knack Magazine:
‘The Flood’ muses about how we deal with the flood of emotions, people and images in this Europe, without wanting to be world-improvers. Paul Verrept sought and found words that are pregnant with intimacy and passion, but also falter from helplessness. His text carries ‘The Flood’ and has Van den Broek excel in intimacy and sobriety.
Filip Tielens – De Standaard:
‘The Flood’ is spoken poetry rather than expressive theatre. But this silence is also the force. It’s pretty clever how Verrept - with a few well-chosen metaphors - links a broken love to the sinking of the refugees. So the woman says: “Our boat is sinking. You fall overboard. And I end up in the water myself.” Grabbing you by the throat.
CREDITS
Concept & performance: | Clara van den Broek, Hera Hammenecker/Wolf Verniers | |
Text: | Paul Verrept - French translation: Monique Nagielkopf | |
Costumes: | Barbara De Laere | |
light & soudndesign, | ||
videodesign: | Eric Engels | |
Choreography | Randi De Vlieghe | |
Stage technician: | Jeroen Wuyts | |
Production: | SKaGeN , supported by Villanella | |
Supported by the Flemisch Governement and het Vlaams Fonds voor de Letteren |