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.
Tags: about, anne, cécile, das, das fraulein kompanie, fraulein, kompanie, vandalem2016. Far right parties are on the rise throughout Europe. In the countries of Northern Europe, National Awakening—an antidemocratic, populist movement led by Martha Heiger. In Martha’s birthplace, a suicide has taken place. Leader’s visit to the peninsula for her funeral is announced. Ellen, a young teenager, sets out to assassinate the woman threatening her and her country’s future. But on the day of the funeral, the situation drastically changes…
TRISTESSES is a theatrical performance whose main theme is the relation between power and sadness. Borrowing the conventions of detective fiction and political comedy, Anne-Cécile Vandalem explores with humor one of the most formidable political weapons of the day: making the masses sad. Through cinematographic stage design, she shines a spotlight on the power of the media and the ways censorship functions in the open or, insidiously, in the shadow.
Tags: anne-cécile vandalem, das fraulein kompanie, Productions, still too sad to tell youConcept and direction Anne-Cécile Vandalem – Das Fräulein (Kompanie)
Music Pierre Kissling
Settings Ruimtevaarders
Images Fédéricco D’Ambrosio
Creation and video control Benoît Gillet
With Selma Alaoui, Véronique Dumont, Epona Guillaume, Séléné Guillaume, Zoé Kovacs, Lili Kovacs, Ghila Kovacs, Charly Kovacs, Aurélie Lannoy,Vincent Lecuyer, Gaetan Lejeune, Jean-Benoit Ugeux. Nathalie Yalon, Mélanie Zucconi
Production Das Fräulein (Kompanie)
Tags: 2015, brussel, credits, das fraulein kompanie, national, still to sad to tell you, théatre