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Theatre listings > 1900. - Belgium Company, Tour & British Premiere. Part of the Childrens' Internationak Theatre Festival. Story - Allessandro Baricco (Adapted by Wim De Wulf). Director - Christophe Ameye. Music - Yves Moersschaert, Nils De Caster. Scenography and Puppets - Filip Peeters. Costumes - Chris Snick. Lighting - Wim de Wulf. Cast - here . Company - Ultima Thule (Belgium) Company Website. Seen to review at The Hub 25 May 2005. Run Time - 1 hour. Suggested Age - 12+ (some strong language). Reviewer - Ruth Clowes. Gently funny, touching and profound. The eponymous hero was found as a baby, in a lemon box, on top of the grand piano in the ballroom of luxury class on a cruise ship. The ship crosses the Atlantic Ocean from Europe to America and back and 1900 goes with it, never leaving the safety of his first home and named for the year he was born. Over the years he becomes famous as a pianist of incredible talent and through the people he meets he comes to know and love the world outside the ship, a world he will never see. Gently funny, touching and profound, this is a memorable and thought- provoking play by an critically acclaimed Belgian company that will appeal on many levels to people of all ages and backgrounds. Narrated by 1900's best and only friend, the ship's trumpet player, Hans Van Cauwenberghe, we are introduced to several important people in 1900's life, played by Van Cauwenberghe and fellow performer Filip Peeters. The two switch with incredible easily between storytelling, acting and puppetry so puppets and actors seem equally as full of life - a testament to their considerable skill. The character of 1900 is particularly well evoked by puppeteer Peeters, with the audience developing a deep affection for this little man, in his brown tweed suit, who is at once so vulnerable and yet, through his music, so powerful. In a minimal set of metal scaffolding frames, ropes and a fan-blown sheet that is the constantly moving sea we are taken on a journey back and forth across the ocean and through the years of 1900's life. His reliance on the ship makes an existence on land inconceivable. Faced with the chaos and enormity of New York city he realises that a normal life for him is impossible " all those roads? How do you know which one to choose?". Instead 1900 condenses his feelings and desires into an existence so outwardly limited that he jokingly doubts that even God is aware of it. The simple staging brings Allessandro Baricco's beautiful story to centre stage. It is a gently powerful message that will mean something different to everyone who hears it. A timeless, ageless story of friendship, dignity and, above all, hope, that cannot fail to inspire. © Ruth Clowes 27 May 2005 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com Cast - Hans Van Cauwenberghe and Filip Peeters. Theatre Editor, Thelma Good's e-mail is thelma@edinburghguide.com Although every effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information presented in these pages, no responsibility can be accepted for any errors or omissions. Theatre listings >
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