A man drags his companion around as a rag doll. A 70-kilo body tied to him. En route and lost, he deploys the rag doll as a living Swiss army knife. Tap its head and water comes out or climb on his shoulders to look around. But what if your companion suddenly no longer wants to play along?
'It really hurts when your head hits the concrete' humorously and poetically embodies how we all have a history. In this physical performance, you are immersed into an absurd world in which the internal struggle of a man becomes personified. Expect a deluge of images that reads like a poem and takes you to virtuosic acrobatic highlights.
DeRonde/Deroo is a Dutch collective formed by Tom de Ronde (NL) and Nick Deroo (BE). Both studied at the Amsterdam Mime course of the Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor de Kunsten (AHK), where they discovered their shared love for immersive cinematic theatre.
After graduating, they started a small research project which resulted in a first performance for the Amsterdam Fringe Festival 2021. ‘After the Echo - a glittery ode to melancholy’ saw the light of day and the piece immediately won the ‘Best of Fringe Award’.
A sequel to ‘After the Echo’ is the stage performance ‘TRANSIT’, which is touring in theatres.
DeRonde/Deroo creates dream worlds that burn your retina.
As a viewer, you get an insight into a universe with its own rules and surreal moments. Their performances are often described as visually stunning poems.
‘It really hurts when your head hits the concrete’ is DeRonde/Deroo's third performance and won the audience award of the Café Theatre Festival in Arnhem in 2024.
Concept & Creation
DeRonde/Deroo
Performers
Nick Deroo, Tom de Ronde
Direction
Jef Van Gestel
Sound design
Jethro Cooke
Dramaturgy
Pol Eggermont
Photography & Videography
Joshua Walter
Production
DeRonde/Deroo
Administration
Marieke van Dis
Special thanks to
Fris Supermarkt, Mischa van Schaijk, Collectief MAMM, Niels Nijs, Alexander Vantournhout, Jiaxin Chen, Fran Vozila, Nina de Wringer & Feikes Huis
With the support of
Janivo Fonds, Gemeente Rotterdam, Amarte Fonds, Gemeente Utrecht, Cultuurfonds, Norma Fonds, Amsterdam Fonds voor de Kunst, Fonds 21
