BigmoutH/SmallWaR: Two Plays

(Paperback)

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BigmoutH He who picks his words well can turn the weakest argument into the strongest. Valentijn Dhaenens pays tribute to 2,500 years of oration. Ingeniously weaving together fragments of seminal sermons, declarations of war, farewells, final arguments, victory speeches and eulogies from the Grand Inquisitor and Socrates to Mohammed Ali and Osama Bin Laden, BigmoutH shows that the tricks of rhetoric have hardly changed. SmallWaR When clean souls boil up in the backwash, they will consolidate after the final war, into a peace that shall endure but not till then. By examining the things cast up in the backwash,we can gauge the progress of humanity. Ellen Newbold-La-Motte, nurse in a field hospital, behind the front lines in 1914. A nurse maintains watchful vigil over patients as fragments of past wars lurk within the shadows. SmallWaR tells the story in the words of those who were there and led the way, and crucially those who followed.

Reviews

Seldom has so much horror been made so tangible through such intimacy. * De Standaard (Belguim) on SmallWar *
Dhaenens's writing is stark and poetica sensitive, thoughtful and often beautiful response to the continuing suffering caused by war. * Telegraph on SmallWar *
Unbearably poignantThe piece is as effective in demonstrating what war does with the minds and hearts of those involved, as it is at showing us the devastating physical consequences. * Guardian on SmallWar *
an electrifying and transcendent piece of art. * Exeunt on BigmoutH *
If Dhaenens is new to you brace yourself for an unnerving, technically risky and thought-provoking show I would hate to have missed it. * The Times on BigmoutH *
Brilliant a fascinating experience. * Guardian on BigmoutH *

Author Bio

Valentijn Dhaenens co-founded his own theatre company, Skagen. From 2006, the company has been rewarded with structural subsidy from the Flemish/Belgian Government for their work as one of the leading modern theatre groups in Belgium and Holland. Since 2000, Valentijn has worked mostly in theatre with over 30 productions and also film and television.