Plankton - Sonja van Ojen & Hendrik Kegels (Netherlands)

Dawn breaks and a miniature city comes to life in an absolutely astonishing way. In Om de hoek woont een struik the makers duo Plankton, Sonja van Ojen and Hendrik Kegels, brings a self-built miniature town to life. A rubbish bin is blown over, a plastic bag gets caught in the branches of a tree, a pigeon poos on a statue, the crocuses open... But in this city it’s not its inhabitants who take the leading role, but the Maple Tree, the Lampost, the Public Toilet, the Chimney, the Beetles under the paving stone and the Kiosk in the square. A world of houses that doesn't need people to make a party...

Sonja van Ojen and Hendrik Kegels bring to life to this miniature city that took six months to build, with every detail and detail. Sonja and Hendrik give the stage to what is not human, to things, which normally do not get a chance to speak. In this paper city, they imagine what happens when humans are no longer around and objects acquire a will of their own and take over the city.

The work of this duo is characterised by its playful visual nature, which makes extensive use of humour, visual tricks and construction sets. By using fantasy as a tool, they make our everyday lives magical. Writers like J.R.R. Tolkien created fantasy worlds with goblins and trolls, but Sonja and Hendrik turn mythological the electrical sockets, stones, bushes, lampposts, plastic bags or fire extinguishers. They marvel at the concrete environment that surrounds them and explore the perception of everyday objects. An unmissable performance, fascinating and full of imagination!

This fantasy-full and wordless production is accompanied by a cinematic soundtrack from Studio Ree (Frederik de Clercq).

^{"The highlight of the opening week of the Tweetakt Festival is the visual Om de hoek woont een struik ... what follows is a wonderful feast of shopping trollies doing a conga, disco-dancing blocks of flats and a coyly flirting willow tree. The world, it would seem, doesn’t need people to have a party.’ - NRC}

^{"In Om de hoek woont een struik it is the things, the walls, the [portable] toilets and the subterranean cobble stones that come to life ... In this way, the makers encourage imagination and the interest in our surroundings - once you are outside again, you notice every colourful detail, from a bent pole to balconies that are being built, And before you know it, you are driving round with a new story in your head about a roundabout.." - Theaterkrant}

^{"Sonja and Hendrik create a charming and imaginative work. They are able to direct our attention to seemingly banal details, which in their concrete banality, turn out to be magical and absurd. With the work of this duo, the concept of 'looking again' is not a banal phrase, but actually happens. We learn to look better and more delicately. Full of wonder at the beauty of things around us, with Sonja and Hendrik as makers and guides through constructed worlds (...)."}

^{- Leonie Clement, artistic director Festival Cement}

BIO

Sonja van Ojen en Hendrik Kegels make visual theatre for all ages. Their work is visual, absurd and light-hearted. They both graduated in performance from the Maastricht Academy of the Performing Arts after which they made the productions Phantom Island and Microlepidoptera together. The duo is associated with the het Makershuis Tilburg and Feikes Huis and in the autumn of 2021 they began a four year language collaboration with Stip jeugdtheaterproducties.
Om de hoek woont een struik was one of the three winners of the BNG Bank Theatre Prize 2020 and was selected for the Nederlands Theater Festival 2021.

_CREDITS

_{Concept, scale-model and performance: Sonja van Ojen, Hendrik Kegels Final Direction: Lisa Schamlé (La Isla Bonita) Dramaturgy: Pol Eggermont Wood construction: Vincent van Ojen Lighting Design: Thomas Claessens Music: Studio Ree (Frederik de Clercq) Scenery assistance: Dominique van de Zande, Wieke van Rosmalen, Vincent van Ojen Coaching: Ilrish Kensenhuis Photography: Bas de Brouwer Coproduction: Feikes Huis, Makershuis Tilburg, Festival Cement Support: The Amart Foundation, Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds, Theaterstimuleringsprijs, Annetheater, Gravin van Bylandt Stichting, Gemeente Helmond, Brand Cultuurfonds Limburg}