Het gezin van Paemel SKaGeN

Flanders today. People have to work, integrate and adapt to society. Different classes and communities speak different languages, sometimes literally. Families are torn apart. The younger and older generations, rich and poor are at each other’s throats when it comes to God, religion and property. Economic migration is still a necessity. And oppression by the 1% leads to a heated battle: Het gezin Van Paemel, a theatre classic, in a world undergoing change, then -1903- and now.

For a moment it seemed that the Corona crisis would thwart the performance. But that has been counted outside the creative minds of the theatre collective. Actor and theatre-maker Valentijn Dhaenens accepts the challenge and plays all 13 characters. At the same time.

In each of the four companies he plays another crucial character live. The numerous antagonists, also performed by Dhaenens, are digitally present. Dhaenens is therefore not ready for his test piece. In DeKleineOorlog, a performance with which he travelled around the world, Dhaenens dived into a dialogue with 7 alter-egos.

For those who still had doubts, The Van Paemel family will not become a monologue, but a test of creativity in times of corona.