Saturday 31 March 2007

Royal Toone Theater

At the end of both the Impasse Schuddeveld and the Impasse Sainte-Pétronille lies a place that is very dear to the people of Brussels: la Maison de Toone (the house of Toone). It is at the same time a typical inn (estaminet), with red Spanish bricks, blackened beams and a tiled floor, and a puppet theatre, with wooden benches and pillows. You can also enjoy a drink on the terrace -a Belgian beer, that is. Furthermore, there is a workshop where the puppets are made, a library, a video library and a puppet museum where those who have retired from the stage, the past heroes of Toone and other characters from puppet players all over the world, are hung against the wall.


Antoine Genty was born in 1804 and creating his first works from 1830. He was called Toone, which is short for "Antoine" in the Brussels dialect. From the Ancient Toone, to Nicolas Géal, the current Toone VIII, this famous Marionette Theatre has moved from the Marolles District where it was born to the Îlot sacré beside the Grand' Place where it is flourishing today.



2 comments:

zoe said...

the beer was lovely, i recall - no comment about the company.

MKWM said...

WHO?? You know Zoe, one can also have unexpected company in there. I recall a time when one of the cats of the house jumped on the empty chair next to me. That's what happens when Danger Mouse is not around...