THE EMPRESS, THE WHORE AND THE MUSSEL FARMER'S DAUGHTER - Joke Devynck

After ten years of absence, Joke Devynck returns to the theater. And she does so with fire, because De Keizerin, the Whore and the Daughter of the Mussel Seller is a story she must tell. Three fascinating women from the Belgian royal family are central. Three women who once dominated the newspapers and whose lives still sound surprisingly relevant today. Charlotte van Belgi, Empress of Mexico, sees her dream turn into a nightmare and then lives for sixty years in self-chosen madness. But perhaps happier than ever before… Blanche Delacroix, sixteen and a whore, captures the heart of the 65-year-old Leopold II and marries him. Wealth follows, but also betrayal and misfortune. Lilian Baels, daughter of a ‘mussel seller’, marries Leopold III during the Second World War and thus becomes the woman who brings him down. De Keizerin, the Whore and the Daughter of the Mussel Seller is the Belgian monarchy at its sharpest: no Disney fairy tales, but three women who made difficult choices and paid the price for them. It will be a performance where text, image, and music merge into a unique experience that brings three intriguing stories from Belgian history to life. By and with Cast: Joke Devynck Regie: Eva Cools Script: Paul De Geyter and Jef Hoogmartens