Begin the Beguine
© Maarten Vanden Abeele

Text
John Cassavetes

Directed by
Jan Lauwers

With
Gonzalo Cunill, Juan Navarro, Romy Louise Lauwers and Inge Van Bruystegem

French translation Dominique Hollier 
Spanish translation Antonio Fernandez Lera
Dutch translation Sarah van Camp

Production
Humain trop humain – CDN Montpellier
Recreation of a production by Burgtheater (Vienna) & Needcompany, March 2014.

With the support of the Flemish authorities.

+/- 2h

Performance in Dutch, Spanish, French and English, subtitled

Begin the Beguine was the last play the legendary filmmaker John Cassavetes wrote – for Peter Falk and Ben Gazzara – before his death. This bleak and glimmering allegory named after the Cole Porter-evergreen about love and death, Eros and Thanatos, never got further than the preparatory stage. It was never performed.

The present production of Begin the Beguine is the result of an exceptional cooperative project by Faces Distribution Corporation and Needcompany. The German publisher S. Fischer Verlag asked Jan Lauwers to take on the task of staging this masterpiece for the first time since it was written more than 25 years ago. The first version was produced in collaboration with the Burgtheater in Vienna in 2014. hTh – CDN Montpellier invited Jan Lauwers to make a second version with Spanish actors from hTh. Gonzalo Cunill and Juan Navarro will be entering into confrontation with Needcompany members Romy Louise Lauwers and Inge Van Bruystegem.

An apartment at the end of a street by the sea. With a seaview, despite the covered windows. They have just settled in, possibly forever, or just for the weekend: Gito Spaiano and Morris Wine. With their last breath of life, both men are stuck in some way or another. Stuck in their friendship as well as in life. They want to enjoy themselves to the fullest for the final cut. As such, they order women - prostitutes - in the dim light of their bedroom. They wait and philosophise. Gito wants sex, Morris pines for emotion and elusive love. However: "If the dark is nothing but the absence of light, love is at least a crack of the door."

John Cassavetes is one of the most interesting artists I know. His humane approach to art has always had a profound influence on me. In the 'images' he created he was not only deeply human, but also entirely individual. Cassavetes has been one of the rare, genuine mentors in my life." – Jan Lauwers

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Text
John Cassavetes

Directed by
Jan Lauwers

With
Gonzalo Cunill, Juan Navarro, Romy Louise Lauwers and Inge Van Bruystegem

French translation Dominique Hollier 
Spanish translation Antonio Fernandez Lera
Dutch translation Sarah van Camp

Production
Humain trop humain – CDN Montpellier
Recreation of a production by Burgtheater (Vienna) & Needcompany, March 2014.

With the support of the Flemish authorities.

+/- 2h

Performance in Dutch, Spanish, French and English, subtitled

Tour

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March 2014
01 MarVienna ATBurgtheater Premiere
09 MarVienna ATBurgtheater
10 MarVienna ATBurgtheater
29 MarVienna ATBurgtheater
April 2014
01 AprVienna ATBurgtheater
03 AprVienna ATBurgtheater
24 AprVienna ATBurgtheater
May 2014
03 MayVienna ATBurgtheater
13 MayVienna ATBurgtheater
June 2014
06 JunVienna ATBurgtheater
12 JunVienna ATBurgtheater
16 JunVienna ATBurgtheater
September 2014
14 SepVienna ATBurgtheater
19 SepVienna ATBurgtheater
October 2014
13 OctVienna ATBurgtheater
21 OctVienna ATBurgtheater
November 2014
04 NovVienna ATBurgtheater
19 NovVienna ATBurgtheater
December 2014
10 DecVienna ATBurgtheater
19 DecVienna ATBurgtheater
February 2015
18 FebVienna ATBurgtheater
April 2015
09 AprVienna ATBurgtheater
January 2017
24 JanMontpellier FRHumain trop humain - CDN Montpellier Try-Out
26 JanMontpellier FRHumain trop humain - CDN Montpellier Premiere
27 JanMontpellier FRHumain trop humain - CDN Montpellier
28 JanMontpellier FRHumain trop humain - CDN Montpellier
31 JanMontpellier FRHumain trop humain - CDN Montpellier
February 2017
01 FebMontpellier FRHumain trop humain - CDN Montpellier
02 FebMontpellier FRHumain trop humain - CDN Montpellier
03 FebMontpellier FRHumain trop humain - CDN Montpellier
May 2017
16 MayAlès FRLe Cratère
January 2018
23 JanBarcelona ESTeatre Lliure / Grec festival
24 JanBarcelona ESTeatre Lliure / Grec festival
25 JanBarcelona ESTeatre Lliure / Grec festival
January 2019
29 JanBrussels BEKaaitheater
30 JanBrussels BEKaaitheater
February 2019
01 FebAntwerp BEToneelhuis
02 FebAntwerp BEToneelhuis
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