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Amor Mundi

Piet Arfeuille / Theater Malpertuis
Tue 30.04.2024 20:30 - 22:00
KVS, Brussels
KVS BOX
Past event
30.04.2024
20:30 - 22:00
Past event

Amor Mundi is about a night in October of 1977, when filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder is feverishly following the news. A plane hijacking by a radical group keeps him awake. Fassbinder (a double role for actors David Geysen and Geert Vaes) flamboyantly discusses the foundations of democracy with his mother (actress Tania Van der Sanden) and his boyfriend (cabaret performer Pieter Verelst).

What makes up a democracy? What is so attractive about authoritarian regimes? Can violence sometimes be legitimate?

Director Piet Arfeuille brings together various generations and makes them think out loud; he creates a seventies imagery that simultaneously feels modern and current. 

Being radical is cool … or so it seems in these times. But maybe the real dialogue is one that doesn’t deliver answers, but that asks questions and opens up our thinking.

A story about the right or the duty to clarify your point of view, about moral compasses and how they sometimes lose their way, about broccoli, phone ringing and plenty of alcohol.


*Rainer Werner Fassbinder (1945-1982): ground-breaking filmmaker who used his films to address the divisions in German society. Created 42 films in a span of 14 years. An intense love life fuelled by alcohol and drugs resulted in an untimely death.

Extra

Please note: there will be smoking on stage. 

‘With the seventies as a mirror, director Piet Arfeuille draws up the balance of our democracy today. Fassbinder, his mother, and his boyfriend Armin all stubbornly get stuck in the staunch belief that they are right. They leave finding answers up to the viewer. This makes the performance both uneasy and mesmerising in equal measure.’
‘Old-fashioned phones ring incessantly. The characters on the other end of the line are portrayed by a different actor on stage by putting on a wig. The wig is passed from actor to actor – a humorous layer that provides comic relief. Piet Arfeuille uses it to address various themes that are important to him, like the legitimacy of political choices.’
Pzazz

Credits

TEKST NAAR ONDER MEER / TEXTE D’APRÈS ENTRE AUTRES / TEXT AFTER, AMONG OTHERS Rainer Werner Fassbinder REGIE / MISE EN SCÈNE / DIRECTION Piet Arfeuille SPEL / JEU / PERFORMANCE Tania Van der Sanden, David Geysen, Geert Vaes, Pieter Verelst LICHT & GELUID / LUMIÈRES & SON / LIGHTING & SOUND Wim Loobuyck, Rik Teunis VORM / FORM Piet Arfeuille, Steve Salembier KOSTUUMS / COSTUMES Lieve Pynoo MET DE STEUN VAN / AVEC LE SOUTIEN DE / WITH THE SUPPORT OF de Vlaamse Gemeenschap Deze productie kwam tot stand met de steun van de Tax Shelter maatregel van de Belgische Federale overheid via Flanders Tax Shelter