Backstage Producties, the newest production company in Flanders, hits the ground running. Backstage Producties, a merger of the popular production company 'Uitgezonderd' by James Cooke and Bob Jennes and 'Theatertainment' by Dirk van Vooren and Nico Warinnier. A rational decision by two compatible teams. Flanders is a small entity, in this way the gentlemen no longer get in each other's way. The merger actually gives both parties more room to maneuver. Given the economic context and after some fieldwork and negotiations, both production companies decided to pool their professional activities and establish a new company. Philosophy behind it all: working from a stronger positioning. It is stating the obvious, but companies and organizations must constantly reinvent and adapt themselves within a rapidly changing world. There is a need for new strategies that allow organizations to optimally respond to new opportunities and new trends. A resilient company stimulates innovation. Talent and capital must be available for the best ideas and be ready not only to change their products and business plan, but also their objectives and aspirations. Resilient companies build the ultimate competitive advantage in an ever-faster changing world.
Backstage Producties welcomed the audience last weekend to their first joint production.
Respect
There is a place for everything under the sun: from unpretentious folk entertainment to high classical divertimento. Quite a balancing act. This does not mean, however, that folk entertainment should be looked down upon. Such performances require just as much craftsmanship. You can apply a craft to it. Good comedians are rarer than good character actors. You need a sense of rhythm, building in pauses to work towards a climax, understatements, associations, grotesque paradoxes, crazy outfits and sliding on the vibes of the audience. Every artist's mission is to connect people. As far as I'm concerned, the value of a performance will always be the audience's reaction. How it affects people: from wiping away a tear of emotion to a tear from laughter. A comedy is a pressure valve for the life we have to endure. Artistic entertainment as an antidote.
© Steven Hendrix
© Steven Hendrix
Hilarious Comedy
Dirk Van Vooren wrote the script for 'Het spook van de operette' together with Manu Jacobs, who is also the director. Boundless inspiration and uninhibited fantasy is their trademark. The setting of the event an old theater, three heirs and the tug-of-war around it. One of the heirs with a warm heart for theater, the others solely out for profit. With those ingredients you can go any direction. When it comes to an accumulation of good intentions and misunderstandings, these gentlemen know the tricks of the trade. All the stops are pulled out. Loose ends are tied together. Crowd-pleasers are the duo Luc Caals and Dirk van Vooren. After 10 years they are on stage together again. The fat and the thin. They flirt with the greatest emotions, but are nevertheless not unguided missiles on stage. Everything is orchestrated down to the last detail with quicksilver play. The performance starts with Bach's Toccata and Fugue. The first part, the exposition, gets off to a slow start. Luc Caals is getting on in years, slower, lacks the pace and dynamics of the past. It is only with the appearance of Hugo Sigal that all the wheels mesh together and everything picks up speed. Performers of great stature are further Maarten Bosmans, Bert Cosemans, Dirk Lavrysen and the Dutch actress and singer with a voice like a hurricane: Martine De Jager. Actors with masses of stage experience. Hugo Sigal proves to be a masterful maître of song and dance. Standing in such an ensemble is no gift for a young debutante. Celien Hermans does her best but comes across rather awkwardly. There are singers on stage and their capacities are eagerly used, even with a few spicy opera arias that are put through the mill. The whole thing is over the top, but delightfully relaxing.
© Steven Hendrix
© Steven Hendrix
Expansion
The duo Dirk Van Vooren and Nico Warinnier are cultural entrepreneurs who do not shy away from risk and continue to write their success story. They purchased the adjacent neo-Gothic Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van Gratiekerk. Theater Elckerlyck had been operating at capacity in terms of reception space for some time. The aim is now to expand the theater in a unique historical setting, adding value on cultural, social, tourist and commercial levels. A pop-up theater foyer will soon be opening.
It is a protected monument that must be handled carefully. Theater Elckerlyck has initiated a feasibility study to be conducted by Erfgoed en Visie, an architecture and advisory firm specializing in heritage projects under the direction of Edith Vermeiren. During the transition period, the doors of the church building will be opened not only for theater visitors, but also for residents and the curious to familiarize them with the operations of Theater Elckerlyck and to involve them in the final redevelopment of the church building. Theater Elckerlyck has more extensive plans for the church building than just a pop-up theater foyer. These plans are being formulated in a masterplan that will be completed by the end of 2023.
