Dead Ladies Show-A sparkling café chantant about remarkable women from the past

Three passionate speakers guide you through the life and achievements of the woman to whom they lost their hearts in this Dead Ladies Show. They give her the stage she deserves. Each of these top women shone during her life, but became ‘forgotten’ after her death. Auteur Anneleen Van Offel honors archaeologist Marija Gimbutas, actress Joke Devynck chooses Ginger Rogers, and bookseller Steven Van Ammel praises the life of his memorable colleague Sylvia Beach. Between and after these lecture-performances, soprano Lieselot Dewilde, together with pianist Lies Colman Irish Keening, performs songs and music by composer Denise Tolkowsky. Auteur Gaea Schoeters manages the evening. Gaea Schoeters is the laureate of the Ultima Letteren 2024. The jury awarded this versatile writer who has been active on many fronts for years and who combines literary talent with a fiery social commitment in her work. Joke Devynck acts, writes, and paints. She has played in dozens of films, plays, and television series. She openly resists pigeonholing and the classic roles imposed on men and women by society. Anneleen Van Offel is a writer who starts from research, travel, and encounters. For her debut novel ‘Hier is alles veilig’ (‘Everything is safe here’), she traveled extensively to Israel and Palestine four times, where she spoke with soldiers and their families. In 2024, her second book, ‘De stem van Sulina’ (‘The voice of Sulina’), was published, in which she travels along the Danube from source to mouth and tells a story about water spirits and motherhood. Between 2019 and 2021, she was also the Letterzetter van Kortrijk. Steven Van Ammel has a long track record in the book industry. Over the past twenty-five years, he has worked for large chains, communist publishers, and independent bookstores. When he is not too busy writing pieces for De Standaard, he is working on a book with the working title 'De liefhebber. Over bibliomanie en andere ondeugden.' (‘The enthusiast. On bibliomania and other vices.’). Lieselot De Wilde is a Belgian vocalist, performer, and creator. She obtained her degree at the Lemmens Institute in Leuven with great distinction and later studied with the Dutch mezzo-soprano Jard Van Nes. She is a versatile and creative artist. Pianiste Lies Colman loves challenges, both academic and artistic. She plays solo, as a chamber musician and song pianist, performs, researches, teaches, and conceives. She prefers to move on the border between classical and contemporary, between music and other disciplines, between art and social science, both on and off the stage. A sparkling café chantant about remarkable women from the past who deserve lasting admiration.