Yet the performances do not leave us unmoved. Recognizable situations become compelling without us noticing. A personal experience/confrontation with the existential meaning of all and nothing.
Three complementary performances with character.
A crossover of media.
A crossover with public.
Beckett in his place
Eye-catcher
in public space. (Nothing)
Waiting for the tram, waiting for the espresso machine, waiting for a
lettre, waiting for a lover. We are daily confronted with waiting in a
thousand and one shapes. It is a part of life, or maybe, it is life in
itself.
The theme of the performance consists of this action. What is more, it is the performance itself.
Voluntary
participants are asked to wait in a certain place in public space, for a
certain lapse of time. Arranged in a geometric pattern, they are
silently passed on to the hands of time. This permeable army formation
provides a sharp contrast with the speed of life with which hundreds of
passers-by cross them.
In this exciting manner, the boundaries
of theatre are exceeded. “Are Leentje Vandenbussche’s installations in
public space physical? Are the extra’s she invites performers or rather
actours? Is the coincidental passer-by part of the performance or part
of the public? And so on. Fascinating questions that prove that the
intrinsic themes from the classic Waiting for Godot
have, in the year 2006, not yet been robbed of their relevance –
providing they be formulated in a contemporary fashion. Which is what
Vandenbussche does: "Alles en Niets/All and Nothing raises the action of waiting to the level of discussion.” (Steven Heene, program director TAZ/Theatre By The Sea)
A
performance developed by Leentje Vandenbussche. First performed in
Ghent on Samuel Beckett’s one hundredth birthday, April 13th, 2006.
O
The theatre as haven. (All)
Everything
ok?
Yes,
all is good.
O is like an open buffet of All, in his greatest elusive form, and our all in our everyday environment. Do you go straight for the full load or do you carefully compose each plate? Everything is in your own hands. Without prying eyes. Without accountability. Everything is possible. Everything is good.
Beckett in his place and O follow the performance format principle. We offer a (tested & approved) framework/format that is filled up by the surroundings’ individuality.
* Nothing with nothing. All
with all. The subject
is broached by the subject itself.
* Nothing in all. All in
nothing. Both
take place in a “contrasting” – with their subject – space.
* Reality estranged. Simple artistic interventions
estrange the familiar and make room for reflection. Audience/performer? The performances are practically
reduced to the experience of the spectator as such.
* Indivual/collective? The productions are in the first
place aimed at the individual, but there is always collective contact, which is
also necessary for the experience.
* In essence the same. The base ingredients are the
same: there is no speaking and time (watches/mobile phone) is put away. Both
performances deal with everything. One does so by forcedly and literally
standing still, the other is based upon movement, being busy, doing a bit of
everything.
EXPO
In dialogue with the
fascination. (All
and Nothing)
How a brain works. An artist searches for his language. How handcraft
becomes a means.
A human being tries to understand.
The research method of Leentje
Vandenbussche verges on insanity. By means of different drudgeries she
has looked for something to hold on to in the vast subjects of all and
nothing. Carried by (/subordinated to) an isolated, monotonous rhythm,
her research studies offers intriguing results.
A fascinating view on all
and nothing, a look behind the scenes of the performances.
The Hapax Legomenon or Waiting for Godot
Book + legend (A5)
Score - staff on 3,11 cm (A4)
Organ score - staff on 11 cm (A4)
Organ book - on 13,5
Audio - 02:57
M2, a conversation with Leentje Vandenbussche
Interviewer: Lucas Van der Vorst
DVD (+/- 50 min)
In preparation: subtitles in English
Trivial Pursuit of Everything - 6 world maps
Ruimten rondom, Georges Perec
Tractatus logico-philosophicus, Ludwig Wittgenstein
Het groot nederlandstalig hedendaags woordenboek, de letter 'A', Van Dale
Dinsdag 24 februari 2009, De Standaard
Robinson Crusoë, Daniel Defoe
Godverdomse dagen op een godverdomse bol, Dimitri Verhulst
(Folded into A4, maximum size 94,6 x 110-180 cm)
Everything on canvas - 2 world maps
The World
My World
(Prepared linen on wooden stretcher 180 x 180 cm)
concept & creation Leentje Vandenbussche
dramaturg Tina Ameel
audio Joris Van Damme
production assistent Tiziana Penna
production Mokum vzw
coproduction detheatermaker & Buda
in collaboration with Campo & Monty
artistic input Seba Hendrickx, Ruth Mariën, Christoph Ragg, Pierre Rubio
With the support of the Flemish Community
