Alain Platel / Arne Sierens: Bernadetje
10 - 12 October 1997
The Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, London NW1
Photograph by Kurt Van der Elst
Developed over three years - the first theatrical performance at London's arts venue The Roundhouse in 15 years - Bernadetje was a visceral 75 minutes on a dodgem track, performed by 11 people (mostly teenagers), 5 bumper cars and a soundtrack of Bach, Prince and disco-kitsch mixed live on stage.
Both director and writer Arne Sierens and choreographer Alain Platel grew up near the village Oostaker in Ghent; here a fairground sits next to a replication of the grotto at Lourdes where 14-year old Bernadette saw visions of the Virgin Mary. They brought this juxtaposition and its questions and clashes to the stage; the cast, aged between 9 and 17, developed the piece through a series of improvisations centered around the exciting, chaotic and dangerous space of a fairground. Tamara argues in Polish with her boyfriend, Jean calls her employee Jack a dirty thief and a pervert whilst her silent daughter lurks resentfully on stage. The audience long to jump on stage and join in the bumper car fuelled action.
In the mid 90s, following the success of William Forsythe and Dana Caspersen's Tight Roaring Circle, Artangel, working closely with the Roundhouse Trust, embarked on a long term series - The Roundhouse Commissions - giving other artists an opportunity to respond to one of Britain's most remarkable Victorian interiors. Alain Platel and Arne Sierens were invited to begin thinking about the building and about the borough in which it is situated. A remedial educationalist by training, Flemish director and choreographer Alain Platel is helping to reposition the status of theatre by and for young people on the European cultural map. The presentation of Bernadetje was the first stage in a long term process that united some of Platel's young collaborators from his hometown of Ghent, Belgium, and a group of young people in Camden.
In 2001, Alain Platel and Artangel collaborated with music group The Shout, returning to the Roundhouse with a choral production.
Bernadetje was a Victoria (now Campo) production presented by Artangel in association with the Roundhouse Trust and the South Bank Centre. This project was supported by Arts Council England, Special Angels and The Company of Angels
