Since 2019, Belgian stage designer and theatre maker Jozef Wouters has shared his Decoratelier in Brussels with Barry Ahmad Talib, an artist from Conakry (Guinea) who, like him, suffers from insomnia. They share a fascination for darkness as a sanctuary of unlimited possibilities. During their sleepless nights, they have conversations made of more than words. Every night they gather at Decoratelier to shape a world built out of fragile structures made up of light and sound, energy and time. An alliance of technicians, musicians, performers and poets forms around them. Together they work in this shadow atelier, where the table saw is idle and building takes place in hushed tones. It is this world that Wouters and his team bring on stage and as close as possible to the audience. With its revolving stage, their scenography evokes a planetarium. Barry Ahmad Talib is both the protagonist and the operator of this machine, creating a theatre experience that trades the central perspective for a multitude of gazes.
Text, Direction, Scenography Jozef Wouters Artistic collaboration Michiel Soete, Barry Ahmad Talib With Barry Ahmad Talib, Maya Dhondt, Micha Goldberg, Naomi Lilith Quashie, Kamal Tall Dramaturgy Bryana Fritz Light design Michiel Soete Technical direction Menno Vandevelde Set construction Decoratelier (Brussels) Sound Wouter Clarysse Light Sarah Feyen Stage management Tom De Langhe Inside eyes Enzo Smits, Lila John Production management Vincent Focquet, Michiel Soete, Marie Umuhoza Internship Chloë Tempel, Freek Willems, Sophie Bax
Production Damaged Goods (Brussels) Coproduction Wiener Festwochen, Toneelhuis (Antwerp), PACT Zollverein (Essen), Perpodium Supported by Vlaamse Overheid, Vlaamse Gemeenschapscommissie, Tax Shelter programme of the Belgian Federal Government via BNP Paribas Fortis Film Finance (BNPPFFF) & Perpodium Thanks to Kaaitheater, DE SINGEL
Premiere May 2023, Toneelhuis (Antwerp)
Wiener Festwochen 2021 was part of the Wiener Festwochen programme MITTEN
Wiener Festwochen 2022 INFINI 1-18