Don Juan

by Molière

directed by : Ignace Cornelissen

with: Erik Van Herreweghe, Hans Van Cauwenberghe, Tine Laureyns, Jakob Beks, Sebastien Dewaele, Dominique Collet, Tim Van Hoecke

scenography / visuals: Toon Van Ishoven

light design: Niek Kortekaas

premièr: October 10th 2002, De Warande, Turnhout

This contemporary adaptation of Molière's Don Juan is conceived as a road-movie: Don Juan and his companion Sganarelle are constantly escaping from the trouble they're getting themselves into. Therefor, the central object in the play's scenography is a projection-surface shaped as a car's rearview-mirror on which there's a continuous flow of images suggesting location and atmosphere of the different scenes. A recurring motive is a sequence of a dirt-road rapidly rushing by. Other element in the projections is a cloudy sky, gradually evolving into a dark thundery sky.

The other essential component in the scenography is a wide, circular hedge that functions as an entrance and exit for the actors; on one hand the hedge refers to the bushes in which Don Juan and his companion are hiding, on the other hand it's a reference to Moliere's time in which the cultivated, neatly trimmed hedges - as in the gardens of Versailles - formed a popular background to court.

opening sequence (simulation)