5
till
11 August 2021
BALSAM
Laika/ Zefiro Torna | BE
Crowd favourite Laika is back at Theaterfestival Boulevard with a sensual performance. This time together with the authentic sounds of the music ensemble Zefiro Torna. Inspired by 15th century polyphony, traditional songs from Portugal, Greece and Iceland and the mystical sounds of Hildegard von Bingen, Laika and Zefiro Torna create an alchemistic concert: a laboratory of experiments that plays with the audience’s senses and a search for the ‘ultimate gold’.
Note: We recommend that you come by bike as much as possible. Would you rather come by car? Then we will ensure that you receive a parking ticket.
Location
Brabanthallen (hal 4)
Running time
75 min.
Genre
Musical theater
BALSAM touches all of your senses: you will see, hear, taste, smell, and feel and let it all soak in like a balsam for your soul. The sixth sense? Maybe it’s your superior sense of taste, your sense for music, your nostalgic heart or maybe it’s your nature. This year, the Flemish theatre company Laika, known for its divine combination of food and play, and the music ensemble Zefiro Torna pay a tribute to life and its mystery in a harmonic healing collaboration.
The texts of the songs draw on the Bible’s Song of Songs, on verses by Virgil and Horace, and the poetry of the contemporaries Baudelaire and Verhaeren. The lyrics tell of the game of love, longing, and heartbreak, the sweet fragrance of jasmine, and the beauty of a tree. A tribute to the healing, stimulating, and enchanting effect of plants and herbs, and above all, they celebrate the overwhelming and unfathomable power of nature.
The performance can also be attended by children the age of 10 going up, under supervision of their parent(s).
"Laika and Zefiro Torna (…) succeed in fusing together extremely aesthetic and well-written sounds and flavours into a sensual sensation."
Theaterkrant.nl (Tuur Devens)"BALSAM brings delight to your ears, eyes and taste buds in the most gracious manner and in doing so, invites you to approach life with open senses and sensitivity and to experience the world.”
Knack Focus (Els Van Steenberghe)
concept Laika en Zefiro Torna
coproduction Le Channel, scène nationale de Calais en Le Volcan, scène nationale du Havre
with the support of Vlaamse Gemeenschap en Tax Shelter van de Belgische federale overheid
musical concept, lute, barocguitar, chitarrone Jurgen De bruyn
sensory concept Peter De Bie en Sara Sampelayo
final direction Jo Roets
singing Elly Aerden, Raphaël De Cock, Jurgen De bruyn
chatkan Elly Aerden
flute, soprano saxophone, composition Philippe Laloy
recorder,french bagpipe, bugel, percussion, ukelele, compositions Jowan Merckx
uilleann pipes, bawu, chatkan, kaval, hardangerviolin, overtone whistling, mouthharp, duduk, overtone singing Raphaël De Cock
bassklarinet Jean-Philippe Poncin
alchemists Peter De Bie, Sara Sampelayo/Simone Milsdochter en Bram Smeyers/Arnout Vandamme
costumes Manuela Lauwers
dramaturgy Mieke Versyp
'injected' by modern day alchemist Alexandre Gauthier
technical en production Pieter Smet, Rik Van Gysegem, Anton Van Haver, Marlies Jacques
in collaboration with Kopspel vzw
