Antigone in Molenbeek and Tiresias. A diptych.
In a double bill of monologues, director Guy Cassiers tells the story of Antigone, a young girl who says ‘no’ to the authorities, and then the story of the blind seer Tiresias, who during his lifetime has been both a woman and a man.
Stefan Hertmans and the young English slam poet Kate Tempest rewrote these classic myths in a contemporary idiom and placed them in an urban context.
In Antigone in Molenbeek (Hertmans), the protagonist, a Muslima, wants to bury her dead brother, an ISIS suicide bomber. The authorities refuse to release his body and Antigone cannot carry out her process of mourning. In Tiresias (Tempest), the identity of the protagonist slips from man into woman into blind seer. From their isolated positions, Antigone and Tiresias each expose the suppressed sexual, social and political prejudices in society.
Besides the visual technology, music also plays an important role. The two narratives, each in their own way, enter into a dialogue with String Quartet No. 15 by the Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich.
Virtual Reality
Antigone in Molenbeek / Tiresias will be a special and intense theatre experience. Inspired by the corona measures and fascinated by visual technology, Guy Cassiers is using the possibilities of VR glasses for the first time.
The audience will be split into two groups. One of them sees Antigone in Molenbeek live in the auditorium of the theatre, the other sits in a different room wearing VR glasses and sees the performance through the eyes of a 360° camera that is hanging on stage. Whereas the spectators sitting in the auditorium experience the performance in a ‘classic’ manner, for the spectators wearing glasses, it is as if they are standing on stage with the actor. They can see in all directions and look at the audience. After the interval, the two groups exchange places for Tiresias. Through an ingenious play with the tension between distance and proximity, between presence and absence, between estrangement and identification, the audience gains two completely different perspectives on two figures who revolt against the consensus.
Stefan Hertmans and the young English slam poet Kate Tempest rewrote these classic myths in a contemporary idiom and placed them in an urban context.
In Antigone in Molenbeek (Hertmans), the protagonist, a Muslima, wants to bury her dead brother, an ISIS suicide bomber. The authorities refuse to release his body and Antigone cannot carry out her process of mourning. In Tiresias (Tempest), the identity of the protagonist slips from man into woman into blind seer. From their isolated positions, Antigone and Tiresias each expose the suppressed sexual, social and political prejudices in society.
Besides the visual technology, music also plays an important role. The two narratives, each in their own way, enter into a dialogue with String Quartet No. 15 by the Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich.
Virtual Reality
Antigone in Molenbeek / Tiresias will be a special and intense theatre experience. Inspired by the corona measures and fascinated by visual technology, Guy Cassiers is using the possibilities of VR glasses for the first time.
The audience will be split into two groups. One of them sees Antigone in Molenbeek live in the auditorium of the theatre, the other sits in a different room wearing VR glasses and sees the performance through the eyes of a 360° camera that is hanging on stage. Whereas the spectators sitting in the auditorium experience the performance in a ‘classic’ manner, for the spectators wearing glasses, it is as if they are standing on stage with the actor. They can see in all directions and look at the audience. After the interval, the two groups exchange places for Tiresias. Through an ingenious play with the tension between distance and proximity, between presence and absence, between estrangement and identification, the audience gains two completely different perspectives on two figures who revolt against the consensus.
Credits
director
- Guy Cassiers
tekst
- Kate Tempest
- Stefan Hertmans
with
- Katelijne Damen
- Ikram Aoulad
scenography and video
- Charlotte Bouckaert
production
- Toneelhuis
coproduction
- Danel Quartet
with the support of
- Tax Shelter maatregel v/d Belgische Federale Overheid
- Casa Kafka Pictures Tax Shelter empowered by Belfius
