Kingdom

»Kingdom« is the name of a simple settlement of wooden houses by a small river in the Siberian taiga, surrounded by impenetrable birch forests. Far away from the noise of the big cities and the constrictions of human civilisation, two siblings sought to build a new life with their families and children in the midst of a natural world that is as beautiful as it is dangerous. But even in paradise, peace cannot reign for long, and distrust, jealousy and greed –all of which the families had attempted to flee – catch up with them and take their toll. A feud soon divides the members of the two parts of the family, a wooden fence separates their houses. They fight over hunting grounds, poach from each other, set fires and poison each other’s pets. The children stand a few metres away from the battlefield of the adults and stare unwittingly, uncomprehendingly, but also with some curiosity through the gaps in the fence at the forbidden other side. When a film crew arrives and interviews the family members on camera, the background to this multigenerational tragedy gradually emerges.

Following »Tristesses« and »Arctique«, »Kingdom« is the final part of a trilogy by Belgian director Anne-Cécile Vandalem about the failure of Western civilization. In »Kingdom«, she is particularly interested in the perspective of the children who are born into a world devastated by adults and who will have to build a future in which they themselves will be grownups on the ruins of a destroyed utopia. The play is based on the true story presented in Clément Cogitore’s documentary »Braguino«, which follows the feud of a divided family in the eastern Siberian taiga. In »Kingdom«, Anne-Cécile Vandalem condenses motifs from the film into an atmospherically intense parable about the impossibility of living in peace.

With: Arnaud Botman, Laurent Caron, Philippe Grand’Henry, Épona Guillaume,
Zoé Kovacs, Documentary filmers: Federico D’Ambrosio, Leonor Malamatenios, the children: Juliette Goossens – Ida Mühleck, Lea Swaeles – Léonie Chaidron, Daryna Melnyk – Eulalie Poucet, Isaac Mathot – Noa Staes; the dogs: Ice, Oméga, Olrún
Musician: Vincent Cahay
Set Designers: Ruimtevaarders
Composers: Vincent Cahay, Pierre Kissling
Camera Director: Federico D’Ambrosio
Dramaturg: Sarah Seignobosc
Lighting Designer: Amélie Géhin
Video Designer: Frédéric Nicaise
Sound Designer: Antoine Bourgain
Costume Designer: Laurence Hermant
Makeup Designer: Sophie Carlier
Assistant Directors: Pauline Ringeade, Mahlia Theismann
Technical Director: Damien Arrii
Properties Designer: Philippe Vasseur
Camera: Leonor Malamatenios
Producer: Daria Bubalo
Administration: Lila Pérès
Tour Manager, Communication: Jill De Muelenaere
Production Manager, Administration
Touring: Audrey Brooking
Children’s trainer: Lara Ceulemans, Julia Huet Alberola
Animal trainer: Victorine Reinewald
Children’s Care: Anne Lahousse, Fabien Castan
Coproduction: Théâtre de Liège, Festival d’Avignon, Théâtre National de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, Odéon – Théâtre de l’Europe, Le Volcan – scène nationale du Havre, Théâtre du Nord – CDN, Théâtre de Lorient, Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, Théâtre de Namur, Le Quai – CDN d’Angers, Les Célestins, Théâtre de Lyon, Maison de la Culture de Tournai – Maison de Création, La Coop asbl & Shelter Prod