Dying to (Zoete Zondag), Danni Heylen, Hans Van Cauwenberghe

A war reporter has seen children die of hunger, seen people shot dead, and looked death in the eye several times himself. But nothing hits him as deeply as his mother's resolute choice for euthanasia. “A person wants to live with dignity, so a person also wants to die with dignity,” she says, while he struggles with disbelief, grief, and powerlessness. A special cast makes this production extra unique: Danni Heylen as the mother, in a rarely seen, layered dramatic role. Hans Van Cauwenberghe as the son who survived the war, but not the gentle determination of his mother. “Doodgraag” is a raw, intimate, and true-to-life conversation between a son and his mother - about loving life and loving death. About how close death only really comes when it enters your own house. Sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes disarmingly witty, always inexorably honest. This piece not only wants to move, but also to spark the social conversation about euthanasia - with a broad audience, from policymakers and healthcare professionals to loved ones – in collaboration with civil society organizations.