Have you ever noticed the beauty of a cumulonimbus cloud about to burst into tears? Can you recall the smell of post-rain humus ? When was the last time you caressed a tree, even a dead one ?

In a dystopian far-future, meet Trebor (a tree in a pot) and Robert (an acrodancer). Intertwined, leaning on one another, these two entities exist in sync, supporting each other throughout the acrobatic dialogue that is La Vieille Souche. Minimalistic, absurd, optimistic, auditory and highly physical, the piece places Robert and Trebor on an equal footing.

La Vieille Souche is an ode dedicated to life, in all its absurdity, and to the walnut tree at the edge of the garden of my childhood home; a tree who carried my first “cabanes”, the early sorrows of my heart, and who still wears – proudly – the scars of the swing’s ropes.

©AnahiClemens
©Astrid&Roel

Following the connecting embrace between the two characters, the audience will go through the
collective experience of planting Trebor at or around the performance site.

Co-Producers : Circ’UIT (BE), Mira miro (Gent, BE), Circuswerkplaats Dommelhof (Neerpelt, BE), Cirklabo (Leuven, BE).
Artistic residencies : UP – Circus & Performing Arts (Brussels, BE), deRUIMTE (Leuven, BE), Tent (Amsterdam, NL), Panama pictures (’s Hertogenbosch, NL), Latitude 50 (Marchin, Be) 
Supported by Etincelles de Culture (Valais, CH) .

Collaborators :
Oak tree : Trebor Quercus Robur
Artist, performer, maker : Samuel Rhyner
Music : Samuel Rhyner, with the help of Pierrick Bacher
Costume and special effects : Menno Boerdam
Choreographic support : Piet Van Dycke
Dramaturgical support : Franka Tremblay
Outside eye : Adele Didelez, Lina Isaksson, Samantha Cunningham Scenographic advice : Sammy Van Den Heuvel
Scenographic construction : Martin Baarda and Luc Cauwenberghs Light design : Bart Verzellenberg
Trailer and pictures : Astrid & Roel