Quote: Originally posted by BBP  |
| This is a sculpture made of old car bumpers and donated coffee machines: |
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| [quote=BBP post_id=104283 time=1756842262 user_id=275] The annual Brabantsedag theatre parade took place last Sunday, for the 66th time! I've been a fan of the event for over a decade but only got to attend the parade for the first time last year. It tasted like more! The general theme was the history and culture of Carnaval, which was an unusual theme leading to many interesting floats. Carnaval is the annual booze/parade/dress up fest (reversal rite) that is notoriously celebrated in N'Orleans, Rio de Janeiro and Venice - our celebration is more inspired by the German variant and boasts usually, elements are the mocking place name and town colours, and mock rites (like mock weddings and mock funerals). The Brabantsedag as cultural theatre parade does its best to emphasise that "it's nothing like Carnaval", so that Carnaval was the theme was a bit of a surprise. Aaanyway, 16 groups showed a beautiful display of creativity and skill in all departments:  This is Nautilus, a performer who has a cool gold submarine that breathes fire and has a drum computer, he drives around in it singing 60s songs.  The first float reminds us of the pagan ritual origins of Carnaval - the walking part of the group do a dance and at set times, the pagan masks turn into carnaval masks.  For over 100 years celebrating Carnaval was forbidden in Tilburg and this was enforced - the float shows partying people in their houses. When the cops bust in, the people quickly merge into fhe furniure and when the cops leave they start partying again.  's-Hertogenbosch has its own unique style that was developed in the late 1800s as the clergy and mayor were sick of the widespread debauchery at Carnaval - their celebration is about togetherness (everybody wears the same clothing), fun and innocence. The dragon, symbol of 's-Hertogenbosch, is replaced by an angel frog .   The winners of the parade also harked back to the pagan origins of Carnaval as a coming of spring fest - an alpine horn that's blown (combined with very loud low noise that makes your innards quiver) , a group of actors displaying the winter to spring with dance and colour change in costume, and this float that blew foam around as snowflakes and displayed "winter" which every minute changes to "spring", when the flowers and butterflies pop up.  With difficulty I picked this as my favourite for the audience vote - the front walking group shows the clergy preaching against Carnaval, and they chant to subdue the beast they chained - at times the beast blows smoke and the clergy runs. All with cheerful jazz playing.  Displaying the origin of the Tilburg nickname Kruikenstad (its inhabitants Kruikenzeikers (people who urinate in jugs)) - in the days of the textile industry, workers could make an extra dime by selling their urine in jugs to the companies. This was used to clean and dye wool into a beautiful blue. The float was preceded by actors selling jugs and clothes pegs - actors on the float all have clothes pegs on their noses.  The Jester Pulls The Strings... I loved this one as well and had expected this to win the audience award.  2nd place and winners of one of the two audience awards - this float depicts how the Nazis forbade carnaval starting in 1941. In Roosendaal there was one café, De Bonte Os, where they still partied - float shows the grey, bombarded, suffering city - with one brightly coloured café full of partygoers swinging back and forth. I looked much like most of the actors as the sun got to me, making my face lobster red.  Rain prohibited us from fully enjoying the last two floats (or making pictures) but this float displays the costume making factory. If you would like to see the parade in action, here's the link of the live show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeMLYUMUn-o (2 hours but you can wind through most of the talking ) |