Dare to dream.
The past months have been theatre-less months. You all know the reason why. A virus brought our economy, (international) traffic, cultural life – in short, the entire society – to a halt. A forced slow-down and a return to ourselves and our loved ones. It’s not easy. A society without real encounters is a bloodless society, void of passion. Theatre is the ultimate art of the encounter. The art of togetherness. Laughing, grieving, being mad together – doing whatever, as long as it’s together.
Today, we dare to dream again. In a world that will hopefully support a little more slowing down. A world in which we fight with the same urgency as ever against the injustices that unevenly divide our society. A world of real human encounters. And where better to have those encounters than at the theatre? Because a new season programme, both fuller and safer than ever, awaits you.
Because recycling old recipes for summer and autumn seems unwise, we went looking for other solutions. New ways of showing and experiencing. It is possible. With shorter performances, for fewer people. In open air, on our back square. And in our emptied theatres with chairs at a safe distance from each other. But one thing is certain: we will be working with our artists in September and we will be bringing their work to you, whatever it takes. That’s what we stand for and live by. Sure, it will be different from before. In quantity and size, but no less intense or passionate, and with just as much talent and quality.
We are using space and time in new ways and have completely reimagined our programme to ensure a corona-proof year.
During KVS BREAKS OUT, we are trading the large-scale performances that normally open our season for solo performances, small interventions or productions with limited capacity. We will be starting earlier than you are used to from us, and we will provide a fool-proof procedure every time to make sure our audiences can be welcomed and experience the theatre in safety.
Because it is so important for us that our artists can get back to work, we are getting stuck in with creating right away. New projects, with old and new KVS artists. For example, choreographer Nadine Baboy has created a dance solo especially for these times. And we are launching an open call for artists who want to showcase their work at KVS.
You may not be able to fly to your favourite holiday destination for now, but an artistic take-off isn’t off-limits. KVS faces Junior Mthombeni and Cesar Janssens take you on a musical trip filled with soul and blues during Sangoma Flight, a product of jam sessions during rehearsals for Malcolm X. Wild and unmissable!
Maaike Neuville and Roy Aernouts are working on a tailor-made creation for this unusual autumn season. In Op een bankje, op een dag they reflect on how we can still create meaningful connections today, without fear and full of surrender.
A number of guest performances also enrich our season launch, like De Meisje by Jaouad Alloul. And our neighbours from Théâtre National, with whom we collaborate closely these days, will also be out on the town as well as visiting our theatre.
We are rescheduling some productions that missed their premiere due to our forced early closure. Moya Michael finally presents the premiere of Coloured Swans 3: Harriet’s ReMix. Lisbeth Gruwez and pianist Claire Chevallier will be exploring the space between notes in Piano Works Debussy. And choreographer Bahar Temiz wonders what the world of tomorrow might look like in her solo ICE.
We open the year on the back square of KVS BOL with two familiar KVS faces: Bruno Vanden Broecke and Valentijn Dhaenens will present their own new creation. They are curious which paths science and technology will lead us onto tomorrow. In Jonathan, they introduce you to an artificial care robot. A poetic performance full of wonder and emotion.
Because the situation around the coronavirus remains a factor of uncertainty, we are only selling tickets for this first load of intriguing performances for the time being. But we still want to introduce you to what’s on the boards for later this year: a rich selection of theatre, dance, performance, readings, … awaits you – beyond October as well. As soon as we find more secure footing for these performances, we will inform you to make sure you don’t miss anything.
We look forward to meeting you once again. We need you. No matter how uncertain these times, let us dare once more. Dare to encounter. Dare to dream.
Michael De Cock
Artistic director