9+
161006_Wij-Zij_FKPH_300dpi__78_von_139_
161006_Wij-Zij_FKPH_300dpi__78_von_139_
161006_Wij-Zij_FKPH_300dpi__78_von_139_
161006_Wij-Zij_FKPH_300dpi__78_von_139_
Trailer Us/Them
Audience Reactions Assitej South-Africa
  • Place BRONKS - grote zaal
  • Length60'

A 5-star review from The Guardian. Performed in the UK, France, South Africa, the US, New Zealand, Australia and Canada. Standing ovations everywhere they go and almost the whole world wants to programme them.
In other words: a must-see!

On 1st September 2004, 1200 schoolchildren and their parents and teachers were held hostage by a group of armed terrorists in a small town in the Caucasus.
It lasted three days and ended in utter chaos.
The whole world was shocked that the very worst evil (the terrorist) had chosen the very greatest good (a group of children) as their victims.

Us/Them presents two characters who look back at those three days.
They do so with an almost scientific precision, in an attempt to grasp events which in their extreme complexity and horror were utterly beyond comprehension.

Us/Them is not an account of this terrible drama, but is about the entirely individual way children cope with extreme situations.. Us/Them, with humour and a matter-of-fact approach, contrasts the views of a boy and a girl with those of adults.
As a physical storytelling, Us/Them strikingly shows that for children, things that seem incomprehensible in adult eyes have their own logic.

Us/Them was a hit at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (2016), the biggest international theatre festival in the world. It’s quite a challenge to stand out amongst a daily barrage of more than 3000 performances. BRONKS succeeded brilliantly, with a full house every day for a month, 4- and 5-star reviews from the most eminent critics in the United Kingdom, and 3 awards, including that for best actress.

IN THE PRESS:

"Parmentier and Van Houtven are outstanding – totally absorbed and in the moment – as the two children who remake their experience through the act of playing, and use mathematical calculations and other things they have learned at school to explain what happened to them."
The Guardian - Lyn Gardner

"Us / Them is an extraordinary piece of theatre that manages to deal with a tragedy in a way that is sensitive, deeply moving, and important. In a world in which images of terrorism are so prevalent, Us / Them offers an alternative look at it, and one that lives long in the memory afterwards."

The Reviews Hub - David Doyle

"Brussels-based theatre company BRONKS are nothing if not ambitious in Us / Them – some might even say foolhardy. What they've come up with, though, is a remarkable piece of theatre – powerful and quietly shocking, certainly, but also one that dares to be entertaining and absurd, even playful. And to call it kids' theatre is really doing it a disservice – Us / Them's theatrical inventiveness and refusal to sugarcoat its tough themes make it a provocative show for any age."
The List - David Kettle

"Work of this quality and intelligence and tenderness reminds us that this is why we make theatre; this is why we watch theatre. And breathe…"
TOTALTHEATRE - Dorothy Max Prior

CREDITS

written and directed by Carly Wijs
performed by Gytha Parmentier, Roman Van Houtven
created with Thomas Vantuycom
dramaturge Mieke Versyp
design Stef Stessel
light Thomas Clause
sound Peter Brughmans
production BRONKS
co-production Richard Jordan Productions in association with Theatre Royal Plymouth, Big in Belgium and Summerhall
The author received a grant from the Flemish Literature Fund to write this play

The author received a grant from the Flemish Literature Fund to write this play.

HISTORY

Show/Hide all dates

You might also like

8+
LNP
11+
NL

KEEP INFORMED!

Subscribe to our newsletter using the link below.

Register