Teatro de la Laboral

The set, a structure made of cement; the backdrop, raw photos of a considerable size; the sound, a catching rhythm (the original score by Juan Carlos Tolosa sounds like Stravinsky longing to play the theremin); the actors are Gabriela Carrizo, Franck Chartier and the rest of the enormous, dysfunctional family who make up Peeping Tom. The play is 32 rue Vanderbranden, the latest performance by the heirs to the land of Belgian dance theatre, and creators of a most virulent tragicomedy triptych about the family institution: Le Jardin, Le Salon and Le Sous sol.

In 32 rue Vandenbranden, the family herd is pulled out of focus in order to zoom in on the specific piece: the individual. And so the inevitable questions, perhaps with no comfortable answers: What is daily life, and what is it for? Is man governed by social laws or by the laws of nature? Is the individual a hostage of the established norms? Instinct or reason? How much freedom does man renounce in the name of security? Is it possible to live without counting the screws from IKEA?

The central core of Peeping Tom is formed by Argentinean Gabriela Carrizo and French Franck Chartier. Both of them have classical dance backgrounds, and they met in 1995 in Les Ballets C de la B, the company directed by Alain Platel. In 2000 they staged their first independent project as Peeping Tom, taking with them the creative impulse of the master Platel, as well as several fellow performers. The piece was called Une vie inutile, and included a camping trailer.

“There were five of us in a camping trailer, we were on a winter tour and we performed outside because the trailer weighed too much to put it inside on the stage…” (Gabriela Carrizo).