14-18, the musical
| 14-18 | |
|---|---|
| A Spectacular Musical | |
| Music | Dirk Brossé |
| Lyrics | Allart Blom |
| Productions | 2014 Mechelen |
14-18, the musical is a Flemish musical about the first world war with the music of Dirk Brossé. 14-18 is directed by Frank Van Laecke and is produced by Studio 100.[1] The production by Gert Verhulst and Hans Bourlon opened in April 2014 at the Nekkerhal in Mechelen. The show closed on November 11, 2014 with more than 320.000 visitors.
History
Development
June 24, 2011, Studio 100 announced that the creative team of Daens was brought together to create a new spectacle about the first World War. The ticket sale started on December 6, 2011. March 16, 2013 Studio 100 announced the cast. October 30, 2013 Studio 100 announced that there will be English spoken shows with an alternate cast. January 28, 2014, Studio 100 announced that already 80.000 tickets where sold. April 15, 2014 there was announced that 117.000 tickets where sold. June 12, 2014 Studio 100 announced that more than 200.000 tickets where sold.
Platform
The musical plays in the Nekkerhal for productional reasons. In this gigantic hall, it was possible to build a mobile platform so the audience can ride for 150 meter on the scene that has a surface of 2 football fields. The platform weighs 135 ton (excl. audience), rides through 350 wheels, is 55 meters long and 22 meters wide.
Scenery
There are 11 gigantic setpieces (including 6 houses and a large tree) that move laser-guided. Every show, a cast of 99 people are on the scene (9 main actors, 23 ensemble members, 45 extra's, 16 children and 6 riders (for the horses)).
Story
In 1914, Germany wants to attack France via Belgium. Belgium refuses and becomes involved in WWI. Jan, Kamiel, Albert and Fons are friends who have to fight to defend their country. But all of them want to be somewhere else: Jan wants to go home to his wife, who is pregnant with his son, Kamiel hates violence and does everything to escape it, Albert wants to go to his sweethearts.
Cast
- Jan: Jelle Cleymans
- Albert: Bert Verbeke
- Fons: Jonas Van Geel
- Kamiel: Lander Depoortere
- Celine: Maaike Cafmeyer
- Anna: Free Souffriau
- General: Jo de Meyere
- Sergeant Dedecker: Peter Van de Velde
- Deprez: Louis Talpe
Source:[2]
English Cast
- Jan: Rob Eyles
- Albert: Bert Verbeke (BE)
- Fons: Danny Whitehead
- Kamiel: Jonathan Broderick
- Celine: Sarah Dungworth
- Anna: Kayleigh McKnight
- General: Dirk Bosschaert (BE)
- Sergeant Dedecker: Luke Hope
- Deprez: Lawrence Sheldon
Source:[3]