At the juncture of stand-up, the absurd and existential drama, Cédric Eeckhout obsessively singles out the similarities that unite his fate with that of the entire continent, politically and economically; he joins the great historical currents with the footnotes. According to him, the important dates in his life correspond oddly with important episodes in the history of United Europe. Even his initials play the game: CE! On one hand we have his story, a forty year old actor looking for eternal love, marked from a young age by the separation of his Walloon mother and his Flemish father. And on the other hand, the European Union whose foundations could crack, threatened by the rise of nationalism.
During his monologue he dwells on Europe’s fragmentation and questions the ambivalent effects of Neoliberalism. He touches on his origins: he is the result of a union between someone from the north and someone from the south of Belgium, which after 18 years resulted in a divorce. Will the European Union suffer a better fate? Presenting himself as a 21st century knight errant clad in protective armor, he is accompanied in his quest by his mom and his cat named Jesus.
Together they went to the Netherlands, Sweden and Hungary, but also Flanders and Wallonia, sharing his reflections on family and Europe. They interviewed key people in the future of Europe, intellectuals, politicians, artists and also regular citizens and even members of his own family.
Writing and directing: Cédric Eeckhout
With the partnership of Douglas Grauwels
Dramaturgy: Nils Haarmann
Costumes and set design: Laurence Hermant
Light design:Emily Brassier
With Cédric Eeckhout: Douglas Grauwels, except on 25.09, with Andrea Romano, Jo Libertiaux
Assistant director: Eulalie Roux
Consultant English language editor: Daisy Phillips
Translation, transcription, subtitling: Isabelle Grynberg, Tineke de Meyer, Lola Chuniaud
Video editing: Dimitri Petrovic
Stage Manager: Romaine Gueudré
Video direction & light operator: Ludovic Desclin
Sound operator: Pawel Wnuczinsky
Stage director & subtitles: Pierre Ottinger
Production: Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles
Co-production: Riksteatern, Les Théâtres de la ville du Luxembourg, Mars – Mons Arts de la Scène, L’ANCRE – Théâtre Royal, Grand Théâtre / Noorderzon, Trafó Budapest, Centro Dramático Nacional (INAEM), La Coop asbl et Shelter Prod.
With the support of Taxshelter.be, ING et du Tax Shelter du gouvernement fédéral belge, Une étape de travail a été créée lors du Festival XS 2017 au Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles.
Thanks to R.Lang, A.Romano, F. Denis, A De Vestele, M. Godichaux, FIND Festival 2017, NEST - CDN Thionville Lorraine, Le Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne, La Comédie de Reims, La Criée – Théâtre National de Marseille, Le Lieu Unique, Maison de l’Histoire Européenne.
We thank the teams of theaters who welcomed us during the various residences in Europe between April 2019 and February 2020 as well as the 85 people who agreed to be interviewed for this project.
