Valentijn Dhaenens / SKaGeN and Richard Jordan Productions Ltd
www.skagen.be
| SKaGeN and Richard Jordan Productions Ltd present: | BigMouth |
| Directed and performed by: | Valentijn Dhaenens |
| Lighting and sound design: | Jeroen Wuyts |
| Costume design: | Barbara De Laere |
| Production management: | Inge Lauwers |
| A co-production with: | STUK y DeTijd |
“He who knows how to choose his words is capable of transforming the weakest argument into the most powerful of reasons”.With this powerful premise, the great success of the 2012 Edinburgh Fringe Festival arrives at the XXXII Festival de Otoño a Primavera brought by SKaGeN, one of the most influential Belgian companies in Europe since Ontroerend Goed.The brilliant director and solo performer Valentijn Dhaenens has reaped the unanimous applause of critics and audiences worldwide, earning the description of “a genuine whirlwind” for his impressive performance in BigMouth. Elaborating from fragments of well-known speeches and others not so familiar, Dhaenens shows us that the tricks of the trade of oratory have barely changed over the past 2,500 years and that absolute truth does not exist – only beautiful lies pronounced by those who aspire to power.
Prior to its première in Spain in May 2015, BigMouth has toured half the world receiving reviews and praise such as: ‘Brilliant... a fascinating experience.’ (The Guardian); ‘...it is in performance, and the skilled hands and mouth of Belgian virtuoso Valentijn Dhaenens, that this deceptively simple idea of one man and a few microphones morphs into an electrifying and transcendent piece of art.' (exeuntmagazine.com); ‘Enthralling roller-coaster through history and its (in)humanity by one-man powerhouse Valentijn Dhaenens.’ (The List Magazine); “Valentijn Dhaenens only needs his mouth to keep the audience captivated”. (De Morgen); ‘Some of the speeches are painfully personal and some are painfully embarrassing. But all of them are extremely clarifying. Besides the strength of the content, BigMouth presents itself as an indispensable lesson in oratory.’ (Knack Magazine).
