» DAS FRÄULEIN [KOMPANIE]

Formed in 2008, Das Fräulein (Kompanie) was established to develop and promote the work of Belgian artist Anne-Cécile Vandalem. Its theatre creations are original works conceived, written and directed by the artist herself. Das Fräulein (Kompanie) is currently subsidised by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation.

In 2003, Anne-Cécile Vandalem began to create and write the shows ZAÏ ZAÏ ZAÏ (2003) and HANSEL AND GRETEL (2005) with Jean-Benoît Ugeux. Her preference has been for fiction ever since.

From 2008 to 2013, the notion of home played a leading role in her work. It is seen as the perfect place of confinement, through which and with which everything happens. Starting from an ultra-realistic universe, she has defined the context of so-called domestic tragedies on an individual level in (SELF)SERVICE at the Théâtre de Vidy-ETE (Lausanne), on a family level in HABIT(U)ATION (2010) at the Théâtre de Namur (Belgium), and on a collective level with AFTER THE WALLS (UTOPIA) at the Théâtre National de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles during the Kunstenfestivaldesarts. These shows make up the Parentheses Trilogy.

Alongside this trilogy, she also created MICHEL DUPONT with the sound engineer Brice Cannavo to reinvent the opposite of the world in a sound show for adults and teenagers.

In 2014, Anne-Cécile Vandalem began exploring the modalities of posture and imposture. She questions a subject/individual’s capacity for action and transformation of reality within different societal spheres, and within her writing addresses the issue of disclosure and fragility as an honest and/or strategic posture. Her creations LOOKING FOR DYSTOPIA, STILL TOO SAD TO TELL YOU and WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU? each in their own way bear witness to these new aesthetic concerns.

In 2016 she created a diptych on sadness, comprising STILL TOO SAD TO TELL YOU (video installation) and TRISTESSES.

ARCTIQUE, which premiered in 2018, is the second part of a trilogy on the end of humanity through major failures of our time.

In 2019, Anne-Cécile Vandalem joined forces with the Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz to create DIE ANDEREN, a show performed in German by the company’s actors.

In 2020, the artist was preparing to recreate TRISTESSES in German for the Burgtheater in Vienna but this was postponed due to the COVID-19 health crisis.

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Anne-Cécile Vandalem is a Belgian actress, author, and director.

After studying acting at the Royal Conservatory of Liège, Anne-Cécile Vandalem began her career as an actress with various Belgian directors and theater collectives.

In 2003, she started her work in dramatic writing with “Zaï Zaï Zaï Zaï” (2003), followed by “Hansel et Gretel” (2005). Since then, fiction has become her preferred form of expression.

Between 2008 and 2013, she set about writing and producing a trilogy on the topic of home as a place of confinement and isolation through which everything happens. Starting from ultra-realistic universes, she defined the framework of domestic tragedies, both individual with “(Self) Service” (2008), familial with “Habit(u)ation” (2011), and collective with “After the Walls (Utopia)” (2013). Alongside this trilogy, she created “Michel Dupont, réinventer le contraire du monde,” an auditory fable for adults and adolescents.

In 2014, Anne-Cécile Vandalem began exploring the modalities of posture and imposture. She questions a subject/individual’s capacity for action and transformation of reality within different societal spheres, and in her writing addresses the issue of disclosure and fragility as an honest and/or strategic posture. This has led to three creations in different media: STILL TOO SAD TO TELL YOU (video installation), QUE PUIS-JE FAIRE POUR VOUS? (project in public space) and LOOKING FOR DYSTOPIA (multimedia work).

Next came TRISTESSES, the first part of a trilogy on humanity’s major failures, premiered at Festival d’Avignon in 2016. TRISTESSES combines theater, cinema, and music, and earned her the Best Show Award at the 2016 Prix du Théâtre (Belgium), the Best Foreign Show Award at the 2018 Prix de la Critique (France), and the SACD Author’s Award for live performance (Belgium). “Arctique,” the second part of this trilogy, was presented at the 72nd edition of Festival d’Avignon. This performance, halfway between theater, cinema, and music, is a thriller set against the backdrop of climate change. “KINGDOM,” the final part of this trilogy, premiered at Festival d’Avignon in July 2021.

Anne-Cécile also works abroad, notably at the Schaubühne in Berlin (Germany), where she created “DIE ANDEREN” (2019), a fable of anticipation that tells of the abuse taking place in a small village that gradually closes in on itself in the wake of a terrible event. The arrival of a stranger fleeing the fires in the south awakens hostile, protective behaviour.

In 2024, Anne-Cécile begins a new cycle of creations titled “HAUNTED WORLDS,” which, starting from our deadlocks and blindness, will attempt to make visible certain ghost stories that our dominant narratives prevent us from hearing.

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