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© Lonneke van der Palen

on smoke and airconditioning

Gerben Vaillant & Fleur van den Berg / Frascati Producties
Tue 29 Apr ’25 - Sat 10 May ’25
Through text, image, and movement, on smoke and airconditioning is a study for ‘a sense of life’.
Tue 29 Apr ’25
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Sat 10 May ’25

“Contrary to my usual way of working, I want to tell a story with a beginning, a middle and a ‘grande finale’. Followed by silence; rain and wind gradually picking up.

I also want to come to love my characters; their things, their little details and the way they talk. Finally, I want to miss them when they’re gone. 

All things considered, the big picture: one day, ultimately, I want to be someone who says ‘yes!’ to life.” – the author

on smoke and airconditioning is a frail story that trembles in the telling, and is always on the verge of collapse. A production where the makers relate to what it means to bring fiction to life, seen from that melancholy universe of people and characters for whom life cannot be taken for granted. Through text, image, and movement, on smoke and airconditioning is a study for ‘a sense of life’.  

  • Premiere op Fr 2 May 2025
Part of

Credits

concept and performance Gerben Vaillant & Fleur van den Berg music Timon Persoon light design Paulina Prokop coaching Loes van de Pligt coaching performers Maarten Lok production Frascati Producties with supported by AFK, Ministerie van OCW, Ammodo

In the press

"Ik wil dat het publiek niks meer hoeft, gewoon kijkt en dingen voelt" Gerben Vaillant in NRC over A sense of an ending 

"Het einde van de wereld als gedeconstrueerde rampenfilm" Theaterkrant 

"Het beste in de theaters van 2024." Het Parool 

"Een performance die fascineert tot en met de laatste scène.''  Theaterkrant 

"On almost every page, over de eindeloze inwisselbaarheid van mensen en dingen, tilt je op en voert je mee. Performancemaker Gerben Vaillant is er eentje om te onthouden." Het Parool 

About Gerben Vaillant 

Gerben Vaillant (1994) is an interdisciplinary performance-maker. During his studies on the AHK’s mime course he developed a fascination for making productions centred around the distance between people and reality: where people do not manage to become (part of) a whole. He works, sensitively yet radically, with different forms: text, dance, visuals, philosophy, trash – it can always go in any direction, but usually it’s atmospheric, and sometimes confusing. His ultimate aim is to contribute to creating a representation of reality in a way better suited to us.

Gerben regularly works with composer and sound designer Timon Persoon. Their intensive collaboration ensures that music and image elevate one another. Together, they build an almost cinematographic universe, which expands further with every production. They also link together the productions and pieces of music they create individually. 

He presented his initial research Things when they're gone at Frascati Producties during Beginnings in 2021, which he developed into the Frascati production The Other Everything in 2022. In early 2023, Gerben created A sense of an ending in collaboration with Frascati Producties. This was followed in 2024 by on almost every page, again in co-production with Frascati Producties.

© Lonneke van der Palen
© Lonneke van der Palen

Maker

Gerben Vaillant

Maker

Frascati Producties