Premiered 2017
Duration 75 minutes

© Kurt van der Elst

Guy Cassiers, born in 1960, is one of Europe’s greatest theatrical creators. His singular theatrical language, combining visual technology with a passion for literature, is appreciated both at home and abroad.
In Borderline he tackles Nobel Prize winner Elfriede Jelinek’s vehement text. Guy Cassiers examines the political, emotional and social implications of the arrival of the foreigner, the immigrant, in Europe, a factor that will have an enormous impact on their identity and history.

Guy Cassiers stages the piece for four actors while Maud Le Pladec choreographs for twelve performers:
“As a choreographer, I had to find a kind of common ground between lighting, video, text, actors and dance. The ensemble of these elements tells the story. All the arts present in the piece interact […] The dancers take charge of a certain form of physicality and of the meaning of the text. […] Guy didn’t want the text to be redundant in relation to the dance, but rather for the audience to draw the connection between what they see and what they hear, creating their own narrative.
Interview by Hélène Chevrier for Théâtre Magazine – July-August 2017

Text Elfriede Jelinek
Translation Tom Kleijn
Stage Direction Guy Cassiers
Choreography Maud Le Pladec
Dramaturgy Dina Dooreman
Set and Costumes Design Tim Van Steenbergen
Lighting Fabiana Piccioli
Videos Frederik Jassogne
Sound Design Diederik De Cock
French subtitles Monique Nagielkopf
Performed by Katelijne Damen, Abke Haring, Han Kerckhoffs, Lukas Smolders
and the dancers of the Jeune Ballet du CNSMD de Lyon Laura Anglade, Nina Barbé, Lily Brieu, Mélen Cazenave, Romane Piffaut, Kostia Choix, Gaspard Charon, Pierre Chauvin-Brunet, Guillaume Forestier, Bastien Gache, Valentin Henri, Franck Sammartano

Production Toneelhuis #Co-production CCNO - Centre Chorégraphique National d’Orléans (FR) Festival d’Avignon (FR) Le Phénix, Scène nationale de Valenciennes (FR) La Filature - Scène nationale de Mul-house (FR) Scène nationale d’Orléans (FR) CDN Orléans (FR) #In collaboration with the Conservatoire royal d’Anvers formation danse AP Hogeschool and the CNSMD Lyon - Jeune Ballet

On tour
5-7 October 2017 – Théâtre d’Orléans
20-21 September 2017 – Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam (Pays-Bas)
12-13 October 2017 – Phénix, scène nationale de Valenciennes
18-19 October 2017 – La Filature, scène nationale de Mulhouse
26 October 2017 – Toneelhuis, Anvers (Belgique)
17-18 November 2017 – Festival Temporada Alta, Salt (Espagne)