© Rahi Rezvani

The lost room 2015 / Collaboration

In The lost room, we find ourselves on a ship at sea, where freedom and entrapment go hand in hand. In a labyrinth of rooms and corridors, several stories are told simultaneously. Characters seemingly exist in every time and every place. At the same time, they are timeless, infinite and boundless. In that respect, The lost room could be seen as a melancholic nostalgia for the future.

Memories are often not a literal reproduction of the past, but instead rely on constructive processes that are sometimes prone to error and distortion. We think we remember correctly, but then it turns out we’ve given shape to a story as we see it in present or even future time. Thus, present and future events are capable of influencing the past, our memories and ability to remember.

Franck Chartier created The lost room with the ensemble of NDT I. It followed The missing door (Gabriela Carrizo, 2013) and premiered on 1 October 2015 in The Hague (NL).

Tour Dates

October 2015
01Den HaagZuiderstrandtheater
02Den HaagZuiderstrandtheater
03Den HaagZuiderstrandtheater
07BredaChassé Theater Breda
09EindhovenParktheater
15Den HaagZuiderstrandtheater
16Den HaagZuiderstrandtheater
17Den HaagZuiderstrandtheater
November 2015
13AmsterdamInternationaal Theater Amsterdam
14AmsterdamInternationaal Theater Amsterdam
15AmsterdamInternationaal Theater Amsterdam
19TilburgTheaters Tilburg
21MaastrichtTheater aan het Vrijthof
24VenloTheater De Maaspoort
26RotterdamRotterdamse Schouwburg
28AntwerpdeSingel
29AntwerpdeSingel
October 2017
05Den HaagZuiderstrandtheater
07Den HaagZuiderstrandtheater
10ZwolleTheater De Spiegel
12LeeuwardenDe Harmonie
18AmsterdamInternationaal Theater Amsterdam
19AmsterdamInternationaal Theater Amsterdam
December 2017
07EindhovenParktheater
09HeerlenParkstad Limburg Theaters
19Den HaagZuiderstrandtheater
20Den HaagZuiderstrandtheater
21Den HaagZuiderstrandtheater

Concept and direction
Franck Chartier

In co-creation with the dancers
Lydia Bustinduy, Fernando Hernando Magadan / Spencer Dickhaus, Bob Verbrugge / Jef Stevens, Roger Van der Poel, Ema Yuasa / Rena Narumi, Cesar Faria Fernandes, Chloe Albaret, Myrthe van Opstal, Meng-Ke Wu, Marne van Opstal, Anna Herrmann, Anne Jung

Assistant to the director
Yi-Chun Liu, Louis-Clément da Costa, Ander Zabala (NDT)

Sound Dramaturgy
Raphaëlle Latini

Music
New composition by Raphaëlle Latini, Ismaël Colombani, Piano recording John Elliot Gardner

Light design
Tom Visser

Set design
Justine Bougerol

Costumes
Yi-Chun Liu

Production
Nederlands Dans Theater

Press

"The power of each piece of the trilogy lies in the permanent unpredictability of events. […] The moments of surprise arise primarily from dance - from a seductive as well as compelling movement language that describes an overwhelmingly heightened atmosphere of psychic primal fears."
Tanz  28/11/2017
"The famous ingredients of the two founders of the successful Belgian collective Peeping Tom are again present: dance, acrobatics, illusionism, cinematic suspense. And mad humour. […] The theatrical qualities of the nine excellent dancers are fully used."
NRC Handelsblad  18/10/2017
"The typical mix of magic, effects, slapstick and contortion is bombastic; the suspense is perfect. The entire piece is still worthy of the comparison with the surrealistic TV series Twin Peaks." **** (4 stars)
De Volkskrant  11/10/2017
> More press

Awards and nominations

2016 The jury stated: “With The lost room, Franck Chartier creates a magical realism, surreal and absurd oppressive work that opens a new world for the NDT and its audience. Chartier uses plenty of special effects, pours suspense and (macabre) humour into one barrel and turns you over with a sublime and overthrowing fragile duet.