Opus Apparatus

Ziggy Stardust meets Frankenstein in an energetic theater concert about humans and technology. After 'The Great Downhill Journey Of Little Tommy' and 'The Only Way Is Up', Boris Vanseveren and Jonas Vermeulen seek each other out again for a third concert theater performance. This time for a more socially inspired chronicle about the fascinating but challenging relationship between human and technology, between creator and creation. Is our philosophy of progress inexhaustible? When do we hit its limits? Are the answers that endless innovation yields real solutions or are they fodder for new problems, which lead us into a dead-end street? In times of artificial intelligence, machine learning and expansionism, 'Opus Apparatus' tells a highly topical story about a community of driven people who have to relate to an entity they cannot control, which they created by chance and interacts with them in an increasingly layered way. The makers find this theme in the oeuvre of David Bowie, which was largely inspired by the space race in the sixties, and especially in his alter ego Ziggy Stardust. Not only because of the music, but the idea of a prophet who must bring salvation speaks immensely to the imagination. Mary Shelley’s 'Frankenstein' in turn fits seamlessly with the desire for a story about a human creation that gains the upper hand and heralds the downfall. A musical performance inspired by 'Stop Making Sense' and 'American Utopia' by Talking Heads and David Byrne. Jonas Vermeulen, Boris Van Severen, Ephraïm Cielen, Sarah Yu Zeebroek and Caro Abutoh are the humans who move nomadically across the stage. They travel through time and space in a simple but rousing choreography, and interpret their own story in their own world. “Look out at your childrenSee their faces in golden raysDon't kid yourself, they belong to youThey're the start of the coming raceThe Earth is a bitch, we've finished our newsHomo Sapiens have outgrown their use” David Bowie - Oh! You Pretty Things Concept Boris Van Severen & Jonas Vermeulen | Met Boris Van Severen, Jonas Vermeulen, Ephraïm Cielen, Sarah Yu Zeebroek & Caro Abutoh | Coaching & dramaturgy Louise Van den Eede & Daan Borloo | Lichtontwerp Babette Poncelet | Geluidsontwerp Saul Mombaerts | Video technology & video mapping Gertjan Biasino | Kostuumontwerp Joëlle Meerbergen | Visuals Jaak De Digitale (Bart Winckers) | Technical coordination Nic Roseeuw | Productie Boris Van Severen & Jonas Vermeulen | Coproduction CAMPO, LOD, Compagnie Cecilia & Perpodium | With the support of the Vlaamse Overheid & the Tax Shelter-measure of the Belgische Federale Overheid via Cronos Invest Pers \"We sing about life, and giving life, in an environment dominated by ‘the device’. But we do not let go of the pleasures of life!\" - Jonas Vermeulen in Knack Focus, 25.11.2025 \"It is difficult not to fall into cynicism when you look at the world today. (...) Opus Apparatus was for me also a kind of exercise to find my faith in humanity again.” – Boris Van Severen in De Morgen, 22.11.2025 \"How do we as humans manage so often to let our creations turn against us? How is it apparently human to sometimes make our environment so inhumane? Look at how all new evolutions seem aimed at the individual. All focus goes to our very own self. The community, that collective I was just talking about, we are letting go of that more and more, while that is exactly where all humanity lies. I think humanity urgently needs to go back to the drawing board. What do we stand for? What does it mean to be human now?\" – Jonas Vermeulen in De Standaard, 21.11.2025