Les Enfants de la Vallée
Les Ateliers de la Colline
For all audiences, from 9 years old
Performance created in August 2025 at the Rencontres Théâtre Jeune Public de Huy
Co-presented in Liège with Les Chiroux
Since the floods, Camille hasn’t said a word.
Since the Vesdre, turned monster, overflowed and engulfed everything, the little girl feels as if a stone is lodged deep in her throat.
Since her little dog, Larry, disappeared in the waters, she struggles to hold back her anger and her tears.
In her damaged school, she keeps busy clearing debris, throwing out trash, repairing, and tidying up. No longer seen as the worst student in class, Camille remains silent.
Her anger rumbles in that silence, like a river about to flood.
To find her voice again, she draws what she cannot say, and little by little, her words return.
Camille heads back to the valley. She wants to see the river.
Accompanied by Larry’s ghost, she questions the Vesdre.
Why did the river, domesticated for centuries to serve a thriving industry, suddenly turn wild?
With The Children of the Valley, Mathias Simons gives a voice to the often-forgotten witnesses of major disasters, offering a choral story of the floods and visions for the future.
The performance will also be offered for school audiences on January 12, 13, and 14, 2026 at the Centre Culturel de Chênée.
EVENTS AND MEETINGS AROUND THE SHOW
Saturday, November 22
Théâtre de Liège / Salle de l’Œil vert
Calendar
Tarifs
- Plein tarif 15 €
- 65ans+/Carte prof/Groupe10+ 15 €
- -30ans/Pro/Dem.d'emploi 9 €
- Groupe scolaire 8 €
- -15ans 7 €
- Etudiants Conservatoires Art de la parole 5 €
Distributions
With
Marie-Camille Blanchy, Ferdinand Despy, Julie Remacle, Jean-Baptiste Szézot
Children (alternating) Kadija, Timéo, Dimitri, Johanna, Fatou, Capucine
Collective creation Ateliers de la Colline
Writing and stage direction Mathias Simons
Writing collaboration Caroline Lamarche
Assistant director Alice Laruelle
Set design Aurélie Borremans
Costumes Marie-Hélène Balau
Music François Van Kerrebroeck
Lighting, video, and general stage management Gauthier Bilas
Video collaboration Jonas Luykx
Stage management David Coste, Marie-Camille Blanchy
Children’s support Alice Tahon
Psychological support for testimony collection Simon Darat
Production and distribution Aline Dethise, Odile Julémont
Administrative management Rita Di Caro
Communication Lola Contessi
Intern Emma Jones
Co-production La Coop asbl, Shelter Prod, Théâtre National, Théâtre de Liège, Centre Culturel de Verviers, Centre Culturel de Chênée, Centre Culturel Ourthe-et-Meuse
Support taxshelter.be, ING, Belgian Federal Government Tax Shelter, Centre Culturel de Flémalle, Centre Culturel de Theux
Funding Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles / Theatre Department, Walloon Region, Province of Liège – Culture, City of Seraing
Thanks to Hugues Dorzée and Sarah Frère, the Préhistomuseum, Le Zet, and Christine Lambot; the children from the communal schools of Juslenville, Hodimont, Angleur, and Chênée who participated in our workshops, and their teachers Laetitia Gaspar, Estelle Huynh, Stéphanie Napora, Loïc Niessen, and Anthony Tombu; the child witnesses from the schools Saint-François Xavier, Saint-Michel and Saint-Remacle in Verviers, the Lucie Shelter, and the schools Duc de Marlborough and Notre-Dame de Dolhain.
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