Elfine Radwanski

Tip of the Tongue

Physical theatre creation

17, 18 & 19 May — het paleis, Antwerp

Co-produced with het paleis, WISPER and Toneelacademie Maastricht (ZUYD)

A creation about all the ways in which words fail us — the unspoken, the untranslatable, and what still connects us despite it all. Movement, voice and silence trace what lies just out of reach of language.

“And so you stand there — helpless and overcome,
tongue tied to the words that never come,
as they cling to the tip of your tongue.”

— from the creation process of Tip of the Tongue

The inspiration process

The piece was built from a scale model before it was built on a stage: paper figures under light, photographs of the model laid out on a table, a costume collage, and the light plots that came out of them.

  • A workroom table with a black scale-model box, a dress form and printed references
  • Seven small paper figures standing in a row inside the lit scale model
  • A wall of dark collage sheets, photographs and yellow notes from the design process
  • An open notebook spread of clothing cut-outs and dark fabric shapes — the costume collage
  • Photographs of the lit scale model laid out on a table
Poster for Tip of the Tongue — 17, 18 and 19 May at het paleis, Antwerp, with the logos of het paleis, WISPER and Toneelacademie Maastricht