Kana Kassy / Do Not Cry

On May 11, 2026, it will have been twenty years since Oulematou Niangadou and Luna Drowart were murdered in the center of Antwerp. A racist attack that left scars in families, communities, and far beyond. Theatermaker Aminata Demba, who herself lost her parents young, is related to Oulematou Niangadou. The horrific event still touches her deeply. As an eighteen-year-old, she drew hope from the shared grief that she subsequently thought she saw across communities. Until it suddenly disappeared again. With a deep desire to make that connectedness tangible once more, Demba sought collaboration with author Annelies Verbeke and SKaGeN actress Clara van den Broek, who is also familiar with early loss. Their conversations with survivors became an intense search, in which their own stories also inevitably played a part. This performance does not shy away from the rawness of grief, but chooses a form that allows light and openness. In this way, Kana Kassy / Niet Huilen makes space for a new bond across the different experiences of grief.