‘If I could speak, if I could use characters to make words, make words and sentences with characters. If I knew the word ‘happiness’, if I knew that the moisture from my tears is called ‘sadness’, would I then be happy or sad?’ (Willy Thomas)
In 1828 sixteen years old Kaspar Hauser stumbles and falters up a square in Nuremberg. Fully helpless, he’s taken care of by the local community. He turned out to be neither insane, nor mentally deficient. Suspicion grew that from early childhood on he had been locked up in a basement, without any daylight, and without any human of social upbringing.
Fourteen Stap actors play the one Kaspar, a present day Kaspar who, as he’s ‘different’ looks with amazement at the world and tries to understand it and by imitating other people, connect with it.
An De Donder is their opposite and represents the outside world and challenges Kaspar.
Jeroen Malaise’s piano music enhances the growing up Kaspar’s ups and downs.
Kaspar deduplicates himself, multiplies himself, has doubts about himself, discovers the other in himself, outside himself, dreams, laughs.
timeline
Kaspar was first performed the 1st of October 2014, followed by a short tour through Flanders, focusing on schools.
credits
Director: An De Donder
Cast: An De Donder, Liesbeth de Hertogh, Guy Dirken, Ann Dockx, Jan Goris, Peter Janssens, Els Laenen, Luc Loots, Nancy Schellekens, Leen Teunkens, Els Van Gils, Jason Van Laere, Rik Van Raak, Marc Wagemans, Gert Wellens
Music: Jeroen Malaise
Costumes: Aafje Horst
Light: Eric Feys
Technics: Sibren Hanssens, Max Adams
Artistic advice: Michel Van Dousselaere, Nienke Reehorst
Starting form a text by Willy Thomas, Peter Handke’s ‘Kaspar’ and Werner Herzog’s ‘Jeder für sich und Gott gegen alle’.
