Gessnerallee
Zürich

The Belgian collective Peeping Tom takes us through surreal parallel worlds. It combines technically excellent dances with cinematic imagery while their focused suspense brings time to a standstill. «VADER (Father)» is the beginning of a profound and burlesque family epos. Father, personified by Léo de Beul, stands in the centre of a curious retirement home. He is surrounded by six dancers and ten extras. Together, they sing songs full of memories and nostalgia. In old age our perception of life densifies into an intense experience of individual moments of the past as well as of the present. When the children visit their father, their energy educes the untold. It is time for him to think about the things he wants them to inherit. Maybe the heritage constitutes of a grave secret?

Peeping Tom has already performed the successful trilogy «Le Jardin», «Le Salon» and «Le Sous Sol» at the Gessnerallee, as well as the piece «32 rue Vandenbranden». In addition, they showed their work «For Rent» at the 2012 Festspiele. «VADER (Father)» is an invitation to life itself – and marks the start to a splendid Festspiel celebration in and around the Gessnerallee.