The Garden of Delights
In a desolate, rocky landscape, a group of eight travelers steps out of a white bus. They immediately begin to explore and shape their surroundings, soon discovering that a cracking egg plays a mysterious role. Scientific discourses unfold, and gradually it seems as though all the protagonists have stepped directly into Hieronymus Bosch’s painting The Garden of Earthly Delights.
Festival Brandhaarden
Location ITA
Duration 105 minutes
Language French
Subtitles English and Dutch
The Bookshop Introduction and Post-show talk
The Garden of Delights
Director and scenographer Philippe Quesne places characters on stage who believe in a utopia of their own making. In doing so, they seek hope, stability, and unity in uncertain and turbulent times. Giving meaning to their own existence during this transitional period forms the essence of The Garden of Delights.
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The performance begins with a problem—an accident that forces those present to reorganize themselves on the spot, even if only temporarily. The characters find themselves in places that carry both memory and modernity, and they draw from both. It is precisely this undefined nature of the setting that leads the performance toward an existential question: how does a group of individualists adapt to a completely unfamiliar environment and to the metamorphosis they undergo—and how do they create meaning?
Philippe Quesne
Philippe Quesne (1970) studied visual arts in Paris and then worked for ten years as a scenographer for theatre, opera, and exhibitions. In 2003, he founded Vivarium Studio, a laboratory for theatrical innovation where actors, visual artists, and musicians come together. Within this collective, he creates performances that form their own biotope, examining the human microcosm with often gentle irony.
Following La Démangeaison des ailes (2003), Quesne created works such as Des expériences (2004), D’après nature (2006), L’Effet de Serge (2007)—which won an Obie Award at New York’s Under the Radar Festival—La Mélancolie des dragons (2008), Big Bang (2010), and Swamp Club (2013). That same year, he created Anamorphosis with four Japanese actresses at Tokyo’s Komaba Agora Theater, and in 2014, Next Day with a group of children at the CAMPO production house in Ghent.
Quesne’s installations have been featured in various exhibitions, and he also designs performances and interventions in public spaces. Since January 2014, he has served as co-director of Théâtre Nanterre-Amandiers, Centre Dramatique National. At the Münchner Kammerspiele, he created Caspar Western Friedrich in 2016 and was an honorary guest at the Kunstenfestivaldesarts in Brussels with La Nuit de taupes (Welcome to Caveland!). In 2018, Usher premiered at the Berlin Staatsoper Unter den Linden, marking his first opera direction—for which he also designed the stage. That same year, Quesne took on the artistic direction of the Prague Quadrennial 2019. With Crash Park, La vie d’une île, he made his debut at the Holland Festival.
31 January at 19:00 - The Bookshop
Introduction
How can protest and theatre come together in a proactive way? That is the central question during the introduction to The Garden of Delights. The power of radical theatre-making is explored and discussed. Keep an eye on our website for more information.
Please note: this conversation will be held in Dutch.
31 January at 22:00 - The Bookshop
Post-show talk
After The Garden of Delights, the creators will engage in a conversation with the audience. This is an invitation to reflect together on the performance: a group of characters who must reinvent themselves in an unfamiliar world. How did you experience this search for meaning? Has the performance changed the way you think about how we deal with change, collectivity, and hope in uncertain times?
During the post-show talk, we will pause to consider the images, ideas, and atmosphere of the performance, and explore how art can help us make sense of a world in transition.
Please note: this conversation will be held in English.
Brandhaarden
Brandhaarden is an international theatre festival that brings productions by remarkable theatre makers from abroad to Amsterdam. The festival offers a unique focus on one artist, company, writer, region, or theme. This year, we shine the spotlight on Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne, a house at the intersection of individual experience and collective concerns. It creates a space where today’s global themes resonate, are shared, and questioned. In a world that is increasingly polarized, Théâtre Vidy manages to touch a nerve and sharpen the audience’s critical gaze.
In previous editions, we highlighted directors such as Katie Mitchell, Milo Rau, and the collective Rimini Protokoll; writer Édouard Louis; the Southern European region (Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Greece); and city theatres like Münchner Kammerspiele, Volksbühne Berlin, and Peter Brook’s Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord.
Credits
Creation and direction Philippe Quesne
Cast Jean-Charles Dumay, Léo Gobin, Sébastien Jacobs, Elina Löwensohn, Nuno Lucas, Isabelle Prim, Thierry Raynaud, Gaëtan Vourc'h
Original texts Laura Vázquez
Dramaturgy / text editing Éric Vautrin
Lighting design Jean-Baptiste Boutte
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Sound Janyves Coïc
Assistant François-Xavier Rouyer
Props / technical support Mathieu Dorsaz
Assistant set designer Élodie Dauguet
Costume assistance Estelle Boul
![[ meeuw ]](/img/singles/campagnebeeld-KLEIN-c-Kurt-Van-der-Elst.jpg?w=1198&h=716&fit=crop-50-50&fm=webp)
Together with inspiring guests from the LGBTQIA+ community, we explore the themes behind the theatre experience. Two episodes per session — with a free drink during the break!
Together with inspiring guests from the LGBTQIA+ community, we explore the themes behind the theatre experience. Two episodes per session — with a free drink during the break!
Together with inspiring guests from the LGBTQIA+ community, we explore the themes behind the theatre experience. Two episodes per session — with a free drink during the break!
Brandhaarden is financially supported by
