Here, I as empress - Molenstraat 103 / apt 5 - Veerle Baetens and Bo Spaenc

On stage: a woman and a man. An actress and a musician. Music, body, and words together tell the story of one figure, who is so colorful that it seems as if there are multiple characters on stage. Veerle Baetens and Bo Spaenc throw themselves into the interaction with each other and the audience. In full surrender to the storytelling, they dare to soar, sweat, yield, and sometimes succumb. The tension on stage – sometimes harmonious, sometimes rebellious – stands in contrast to the isolated bubble in which the main character, Minni Maes, has retreated. Minnie Maes is the smallest, grayest little mouse. She leaves no traces, that is how minimal Minnie is. In a world that is becoming increasingly harsh and ugly, or as she puts it: "harshly," Minnie withdraws. In Molenstraat 103 bus 5 she is Empress and wields the scepter. Here she burns her mouseyness and her mood reigns supreme. And otherwise: off with their head. But is she allowed to spit fire in a world that is already burning? Or does she then become what she detests: a hunter, a chaser, a colonist? Does she become that man on an imperialistic victory march, with only scorched earth in his wake? And who then heals the wounds? Here, I as Empress is a musical monologue about loneliness, power, and doubt. About how loud it can be in a head that feels too much. About the terrifying and liberating act of taking up space. And about what happens when the world, unexpectedly, stands at your door again. Inspired by the hikikomori phenomenon, where people rarely leave their house or room anymore. Inspired by the loneliness economy that offers simple alternatives to the complex efforts that human relationships require. Inspired by a world whose pace we cannot keep up with, and yet we miss something. Inspired by the desire to be rid of that exhausting world.