THAT’S THE WAY THE COOKIE CRUMBLES
Émilie Franco
PRODUCTION TDL
Show premiered on 13 October 2026 at the Théâtre de Liège
A voice sings. A screen lights up, and cities overlap: Agrigento, Liège, perhaps New York. Between these places, a question emerges: what if several versions of our lives existed simultaneously?
Intrigued by the story of her Sicilian grandmother Marianna Belmonte’s double exile, Émilie Franco creates a performance at the intersection of theatre, video and live music.
Drawing on field research, this autofictional narrative weaves together personal memory and contemporary imaginaries through Reality Shifting, a practice of “quantum travel” popularised on TikTok, mainly by young women known as shifters.
She thus opens a gateway to a “desired reality”, where fiction multiplies possibilities, questioning our desire to escape reality and imagine alternative worlds.
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
Concept, writing, performance Émilie Franco
Music composition, live music Aurélie Mestres (aka Louise Roam)
Set design & choreography of images, performance Gaëtan Rusquet
Sound design Pierre-Alexandre Lampert
Lighting design Florian Leduc
Sound technician Xavier Dedecker
Théâtre de Liège technicians Coralie Denooz, Mehdi Igout, Johann Spitz, Benjamin Devillers, Antoine Polain
Dramaturgical collaboration Lucille Calmel, Arnaud Timmermans
Acting coach and outside eye Salvatore Calcagno
Choreographic advisor Baptiste Conte
Vocal coaching Muriel Legrand
Costumes Clothilde Arzoumanian-Charron
Make-up Lila Vander Elst
Technical collaboration Raphaël Barani, Maxence Obein
Music video production Yannick Mizero Black (director), Jonathan Da Silva (director of photography), Camran Nassiri (Steadicam operator), Lucas Marbach (camera assistant), Florian Dussart (production designer, assisted by Charlène Nicaise)
Assistant director (intern) Isée Rocaboy
Collaborations (research residency) Julia Huet Alberola (dramaturgy), Lisa Sallustio & Adrien Heylen & Pierre-Nicolas Blandin aka Bibou (Marianna filming in Liège)
Featuring Marianna Belmonte, Kat (Xoxoshifty), Jess (Jess.shifting), Winona (Winowolf), Aly (poets.but.dead), Yapper.exe, Yuly.sm, Iamspirituel, Mélanie Riddle (brojustletmeshift)
Photography Alexandre Fytrakis
Administration/production Mathilde Brasseur (Bloody Sunset asbl)
Production and touring coordination Tristan Barani (Bloody Sunset asbl)
Set construction Théâtre de Liège Workshops
Production Théâtre de Liège, DC&J Création
Co-production Bloody Sunset asbl, La Pop (Paris), Atelier 210 and Le Rideau (Brussels), Mars – Mons arts de la scène, Lieu Multiple and META CDN de Poitiers Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Airfono, ERT Fondazione (Bologna)
With the support of le CORRIDOR, la Maison Poème, Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles, le Centre Wallonie Bruxelles, le 3 bis f – Centre d’arts contemporains Aix en Provence, la Chartreuse – Centre national des écritures du spectacle, (e)utopia – Armel Roussel, Mairie de Paris – Création musicale, Tax Shelter of the Belgian Federal Government, Inver Tax Shelter, Wallonie-Bruxelles International, COCOF.
With assistance from Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles / Service Théâtre and SACD Beaumarchais
Special thanks to the Messana family (Conchettina, Pino, Pina, Gina, Melina), the Franco family, Gérald Kurdian, Benoît Ausloos, Noémie Vanheste, Matthieu Goeury & Fernand Van Bever (Les Halles de Schaerbeek), Charlène Nicaise and Ateliers Tartar, Serge Rangoni, Audrey Brooking, Jonathan Thonon, Charlie Mouget, Sami El Hage, Caroline Gonce, Philippe Couture, Corina Sabbas, Nicole & Jean Louis Barani, Olivier & Garlone Jadoul Andremont, Vera Martynov, Marco Martiniello, Yaël Nazé, Sarah Roman, Patrick Treguer, Héloïse Morel, M. Croissant, Jonathan from Old Masters, the Héméra Films team, Christophe Flémal, and Manu, Elise, Jimmy, Luisa, Loïck, Emy, Lina, Kevin, Marjorie, Eddy, Lolo, Christine, Mymy, the entire technical team and all the staff at Théâtre de Liège.
This project benefited from an artist residency supported by the PROSPERO NEW platform, co-funded by the European Union’s Creative Europe programme.
