Kunstenfestivaldesarts
Theatre, dance, performances, films and visual arts: the Kunstenfestivaldesarts is a festival for contemporary art that takes place every May in Brussels. The works of both Belgian and international artists are presented in theatres, cultural centres and public spaces.
This year, on the opening weekend of the KFDA, we will celebrate the world premiere of Susanne Kennedy's new work
Angela (A Strange Loop) at the Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles, one of the biggest stages in Brussels.
Angela (A Strange Loop) – Susanne Kennedy and Markus Selg
In
Angela (A Strange Loop), a woman's life unfolds before our eyes in a spectacular TV studio. The space constantly transforms, switching between real and virtual as we follow Angela through waking and sleeping, being born and giving birth, sickness and healing, ageing and dying. But what makes Angela Angela? With her trademark post-humanist aesthetic and multimedia approach, celebrated German theatre-maker Susanne Kennedy collaborates with visual artist Markus Selg to delve into one of the fundamental questions of existence: what is the nature of reality and what am ‘I’? The actors uncannily approximate a perfect but artificial reality. They speak in lip-sync and slightly out of rhythm, as if trying to imitate real life. Digital culture and virtual reality mix seamlessly with spirituality and philosophy. Susanne Kennedy is one of today’s most innovative theatre-makers and was awarded the European Theatre Prize. With this creation, presenting her work in Brussels for the first time, she serves up a case study of what it means to be a human being. An intense visual trip and a brand new way of experiencing theatre.
Tickets
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Susanne Kennedy was born in Friedrichshafen in 1977. She studied directing at the Hogeschool voor de Kunsten in Amsterdam (AHK). A number of productions based on plays by Enda Walsh, Sarah Kane and Elfriede Jelinek have been staged at Dutch theatres. In 2011 Johan Simons invited her to work with the ensemble of the Münchner Kammerspiele. For "Fegefeuer in Ingolstadt" (2013) she was voted Young Director of the Year in the "Theater heute" critics' poll and took part in the Berlin Theatertreffen in 2014. In recent years, she has worked primarily at the Volksbühne Berlin and the Münchner Kammerspiele. The productions there, including "Die Selbstmord-Schwestern - The Virgin Suicides" (2017), "Woman in Trouble" (2017), "Drei Schwestern" (2019) and Ultraworld (2020), are receiving strong attention as theatre in the posthuman age. Director Susanne Kennedy responds to the new balance of power between bodies, technical objects and machines with an aesthetic that is beyond the human. Distorted by masks, playback dialogue, doppelgängers and multimedia, the actors and actresses confront the audience with a post-humanistic subjectivity.
Born 1974 in Singen / Germany, Markus Selg is a multi-media artist exploring the dynamics between archaic myth and computer technology in forms of digital painting, sculpture, immersive installations, theatre and VR. Selection of exhibitions / performances: “COMING SOCIETY” and “ULTRAWORLD” 2019/2020 (both with Susanne Kennedy) at Volksbühne Berlin. For “ULTRAWORLD” he received the Faust Award 2020 for best stage design. “ALGORITHMIC RITUALS – The Infinite Self” and “ORACLE” 2019/2020 (both with Susanne Kennedy) at Kammerspiele München. 2017 “THE COSMIC STAGE” / Galerie Guido W. Baudach, Berlin, 2016 “MEDEA.MATRIX” (with Susanne Kennedy) at Ruhrtriennale Festival, 2015 “PRIMITIVE DATA,” Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, 2012 Premier of his feature film “DAS EWIGE ANTLITZ,” 2011 GESAMTKUNSTWERK, Saatchi Gallery, London, 2009 “TRACES OF THE SUN – An Apocalyptic Opera” at b-05, Montabour with Jannis Kounellis and Werner Herzog.
Presentation: Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles
Concept, text and direction: Susanne Kennedy & Markus Selg | Concept and stage design: Markus Selg | Performers: Diamanda Dramm, Ixchel Mendoza Hernández, Kate Strong, Tarren Johnson, Dominic Santia | Dramaturgy: Helena Eckert | Light design: Rainer Casper | Sound design and montage: Richard Alexander | Soundtrack: Diamanda Dramm, Richard Alexander | Live music: Diamanda Dramm | Video design: Rodrik Biersteker, Markus Selg | Costume design: Andra Dumitrascu
Production: Ultraworld Productions | Management and distribution: Something Great | Coproduction: Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Festival d’Automne à Paris, Festival d'Avignon, Holland Festival, Wiener Festwochen, Roma Europa Festival, National Theater of Prague/Prague Crossroads
Supported by: Ammodo Foundation, the German Federal Cultural Foundation and with funding by the German Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media
Performances in Brussels with the support of the Goethe-Institut Brussels
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