Once And For All We're Gonna Tell You Who We Are So Shut Up and Listen. Yes, it is a very long title. However, it's extremely appropriate. The newest show to come to Harbourfront Centre as part of the very popular World Stage line-up is a moving piece of physical theatre from Belgium's performance group Ontroerend Goed. The piece is comprised of thirteen teenagers who struggle with various issues of youth and adolescent rebellion, and so in a way, the long and convoluted title is well suited to a chaotic show that tells the story of a very turbulent time in everyone's life.
The show comes to Harbourfront's Enwave Theatre February 16th - 20th. It has taken the world by storm, winning Fringe First, Herald Angel and Total Theatre Awards in Edinburgh and touring Australia, Europe and the United States. It is directed by Alexander Devriendt, who took some time to talk with BWW about the show and what it means to him:
You have said before that you created this work because you feel teenagers are under-represented in theatre, what kind of message are you hoping to get across to young people who come to see the performance?
First of all, I would like to say that the show is directed at the teenager inside everyone, and in that way it's not only for young people, but aimed largely at adults. I wanted to make a performance with youngsters that was for an adult audience, and also something where young people could recognize themselves.
Regarding the message I would like to get across, it really is mainly to "shut and up and listen" to them, and see how you feel about it when you do. A lot of adults will say that they long to re-experience their childhood but not their teenage years, and I feel those are the years that should really be cherished. A lot of people see those years as an age where they are happy when it's over. However, that attitude breeds a society without rebellion.
It isn't necessarily that teenagers are under-represented in theatre, but I wanted to look in a positive way at the destructive nature of that particular age. That is something I think has been missing in any work I have seen on stage with youngsters.
In an interview you stated that teenagers often miss out on that wonderful part of their youth because they are too busy wanting to be adults, and now you work every day with a group of teenagers living an atypical life because they are on the road touring with this production. Do you feel the production gives them a chance to live out some of that teenage rebellion in a more "safe" environment?
Yes. Although the performance space isn't the only real safe place I provide. I have tried to create that everywhere, including in the rehearsal space, I have made it a place of freedom. When I was young I didn't have a place like that so I went looking for it in other areas. I remember some abandoned houses I could go to with my friends. A lot of teenagers will go looking for it, and find it in dangerous places.
This show has been all over the world, how have the reactions differed between countries? Have you been particularly well received in certain areas?
When we first started touring, I think I noticed differences much more than I do now. I remember that when we were in the UK I felt that the show had a bigger impact socially than artistically, but now after touring in several different countries and continents in the Western World I can't help but notice that most people react in the same way. It's hard to believe that a production from our little town in Ghent could make such a connection with teenagers from other countries. We just had an amazing run in New York, and now I believe more and more that teenagers all over the world feel the same power inside themselves, and they all recognize that this is a big metamorphosis in their life.
One very successful show about teenagers was the recent adaption of Wedekind's Spring Awakening that won the Tony and played on Broadway - however, that show was relatively tame in comparison to yours. How does physical theatre such as Shut Up And Listen differ from something like a traditional musical theatre production that is trying to explore the same issues (growing up, adolescence, sex and sexuality, drugs, rules etc)?
I never wanted to push my vision, and often worried during rehearsals about some of the stuff I would see or hear, but I always tried not to interfere and worked on simply trusting them. We had this one simple rule: don't hurt anyone that doesn't want to be hurt.
I think the openness on my part helped to push some boundaries. I have never worked professionally with youngsters before so I wasn't aware of the rules, and in that sense, I couldn't really worry about breaking them.
