Veerle Baetens & Bo Spaenc - Here, I as empress

Molenstraat 103/bus 5 On stage: a woman and a man. An actress and a musician. Music, body, and words together tell the story of one figure, who is so colorful that several characters seem to be on stage. Veerle and Bo throw themselves into the interaction with each other and the audience. In full surrender to the storytelling, they dare to float, sweat, yield, and sometimes succumb. The tension on the stage – sometimes harmonious, then again rebellious – stands in contrast to the isolated bubble in which the main character has retreated. Outside was too fast, too loud, too demanding, too many roles... Indoors, there is routine to fill the void: hey Google, YouTube, ChatGPT... Inside she is free, the empress in her empire: superwoman, unapproachable, enfant terrible. Then her door goes ajar... She, disconnected and replaceable, does she face the confrontation? Inspired by the hikikomori phenomenon, where people rarely leave their house or room anymore. Inspired by the loneliness economy that offers simple alternatives to the complex efforts that human relationships require. Inspired by a world whose pace we cannot follow, and yet miss something. Inspired by the desire to be rid of that tiring world. Veerle Baetens is an actress, director, screenwriter, and singer. In 2012, she made her international breakthrough with her lead role in the film ‘The Broken Circle Breakdown’ for which she won several awards. Since then, she has mainly focused on film and television projects. She made her directorial debut with the film ‘Het smelt’, based on the novel by Lize Spit. Now she accepts Bo's invitation to be on the boards again with ‘Hier, ik als keizerin’. From the start, Veerle gives direction to this performance in terms of content and form, by addressing a theme that is close to her heart and offers opportunities to interweave words with physical play and music. Bo Spaenc gives a retort with both grotesque circus sounds and with an honest sound of vocals, Indian organ, organic percussion, and toy piano. As artistic director of Muziektheater De Kolonie – and later as a freelancer – Bo made music theater with strong storytellers like Lucas van den Eynde, Peter De Graef, Tania Van der Sanden, Bart Hollanders, Warre Borgmans, Vic De Wachter, Stefaan Degand, and Bruno Vanden Broecke, against his ‘live’ music. These productions were invariably extensively covered in the CCs. With ‘Hier, ik als Keizerin’, Bo and Veerle make music theater in which word, vocals, and instruments surprise each other and go their own way in a contrary manner. From and by: Veerle Baetens (cast, idea script, script) | Bo Spaenc (live music, composition) | Kiana Porte (idea script) | Yoline Denys (script) | Jan Bijvoet (coaching) | Manu Verschuren (costumes) | Dries Bellinkx (set, lighting design, sound design) | PER PODIUM & BO SPAENC BV (producer) | CC Asse, CC Herent (co-production) | Lennert Madou (image) Thanks to centre culturel de Beauchevain, Theater Vooruit Boechout and the Tax Shelter of the Belgian federal government.