Fairy Tales

Snow White returns to the palace after the queen's assassination attempt to negotiate the outcome of the fairy tale. Cinderella doubts her prince and enjoys being hated by her stepsisters. Sleeping Beauty, the royal family, and their court are not happy when they are unwelcomely awoken from their sleep and have to resume their duties.  

The Tibaldus theatre group rediscovered the work of Swiss author Robert Walser (1878–1956). Few people know his versions of the Grimm fairy tales, which he adapted with both ‘poetic seriousness and playful banter’ into short theatre texts or dramolettes. The characters behave rebelliously: they no longer want to colour neatly within the predetermined storylines.   

Simon De Winne, Hans Mortelmans, and Timeau De Keyser – aka Tibaldus – see this rebelliousness as a challenge. Because by disrupting the plot everything becomes possible, and the game can really begin. This game is played with language: alternative versions, lies, gaslighting, denial... A battle for control over the narrative breaks out. The characters try to outdo each other in their dismantling of the original story.   

“Tibaldus's cartoonish acting style works wonderfully well with the succession of characters. (...) At the same time, Tibaldus finds humour in their more subtle interplay.” Elie Agniel – E-tcetera  

• Timeau De Keyser, Hans Mortelmans, and Simon De Winne met each other in the drama department of the KASK in Ghent, after which they founded Tibaldus in 2009. They have already appeared several times in Kaaitheater programmes, including in Het Huwelijk en Yvonne, Prinses van Bourgondië, and Operette.