Venizke

They appeared together in Alain Platel & Arne Sierens’ Moeder en Kind and have also drawn each other into various productions and projects (Ben acted in Lies’ directing debut, Club Astrid, Lies coached the productions by Latrinité, and Ben assisted in directing Lies’ play, For all the wrong reasons). So it was high time to link up their various views and theatre idioms, and also their shared fascinations, and to make a play together.

Their work does have several features in common. Their approach differs from the more obvious ways of making plays. The performers are at the heart of the play and become its starting point. The crucial role played by music is also a common feature. The music is a conspicuous presence and is constantly setting the atmosphere on which the performance moves forward.

For Venizke, Ben and Lies assembled an international cast: a combination of six exceptional actors and dancers. They are ostensibly a group, but they exist and act more alongside than with each other. They actively seek possible points of contact. And pleasure too. There is dancing. And spoken words. There is a miniature Eiffel Tower. And there is music, from the castrato Moreschi to the pop icon Amy Winehouse.