“I don’t believe in God but I miss him”
– Nothing to be Frightened Of, Julian Barnes
Funeral is a collective ritual about the finiteness of things, created by Ontroerend Goed. It shall start, in the dark. We will greet each other and we will say goodbye. There will be singing and pretending. There will be light and room for darkness. We’ll light candles, we will eat and drink and celebrate our lives. And all of that will end. Welcome.
After interactive shows about economy (£¥€$), democracy (Fight Night) and online radicalisation (TM), Ontroerend Goed looks the audience and death in the eyes. Funeral is a theatrical ceremony, a new ritual that brings people together, whatever they believe, are or think. Because everything is finite and we are going to have to live with that.
With Funeral, Ontroerend Goed uses the format of a funeral to create a collective ritual about the finiteness of things. At a funeral, we don’t just think about the person we’re saying goodbye to. It is also a time when we reflect on ourselves and our own inevitable end. Such thinking exercises are no small feat, which is why we have rituals: structured ways of processing reality. Funeral explores these collective experiences with a focus on the living. Funeral is a reflection on death and a celebration of life.
Director: Alexander Devriendt
Cast: Giovanni Brand, Karolien De Bleser, Charlotte De Bruyne, Josse De Pauw, Julia Ghysels, Aurélie Lannoy, David Roos, Angelo Tijssens, a.o
Music: Joris Blanckaert, Hector Devriendt
Stage design: Kris Martin
Light design: Sarah Feyen
Technicians: Sarah Feyen, Pepijn Mesure
Graphics: Nick Mattan
Research: Remi Cosijn
Photography: Dries Segers
Production: Ontroerend Goed
Co-production: DE SINGEL INTERNATIONAL ARTS CENTRE (BE), Kunstencentrum Voo?uit (BE), LOD Muziektheater (BE), Theatre Royal Plymouth (UK), le MAIF Social Club, Paris (FR), La Rose des Vents, Villeneuve d’Ascq (FR), Perpodium (BE)
With the support of the Flemish Government and The City of Ghent. This show was made possible with the support of the Tax Shelter measure from the Belgian Federal Government via Cronos Invest.
Diffusion: ART HAPPENS
| Date | Performance | City Country | Organisation/Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13.05.2023 | Funeral | Bern (ch) | Auawirleben |
| 12.05.2023 | Funeral | Bern (ch) | Auawirleben |
| 09.05.2023 | Funeral | Schaffhausen (ch) | Stadttheater Schaffhausen |
| 08.05.2023 | Funeral | Schaffhausen (ch) | Stadttheater Schaffhausen |
| 14.04.2023 | Funeral | Amsterdam (nl) | De Brakke Grond |
| 13.04.2023 | Funeral | Amsterdam (nl) | De Brakke Grond |
| 12.04.2023 | Funeral | Amsterdam (nl) | De Brakke Grond |
| 30.03.2023 | Funeral | Waregem (be) | CC De Schakel |
| 22.12.2022 | Funeral | Genk (be) | C-mine |
| 09.12.2022 | Funeral | Ghent (be) | VIERNULVIER/Vooruit |
| 08.12.2022 | Funeral | Ghent (be) | VIERNULVIER/Vooruit |
| 07.12.2022 | Funeral | Ghent (be) | VIERNULVIER/Vooruit |
| 06.12.2022 | Funeral | Ghent (be) | VIERNULVIER/Vooruit |
| 02.12.2022 | Funeral (Cancelled) | Leuven (be) | 30 CC |
| 01.12.2022 | Funeral (Cancelled) | Eeklo (be) | CC Herbakker |
| 20.11.2022 | Funeral | Châtillon (fr) | Théâtre de Châtillon |
| 19.11.2022 | Funeral | Châtillon (fr) | Théâtre de Châtillon |
| 16.11.2022 | Funeral | Amsterdam (nl) | De Brakke Grond |
| 15.11.2022 | Funeral | Amsterdam (nl) | De Brakke Grond |
| 28.10.2022 | Funeral | Ghent (be) | VIERNULVIER/Minard |
| 27.10.2022 | Funeral | Ghent (be) | VIERNULVIER/Minard |
| 26.10.2022 | Funeral | Ghent (be) | VIERNULVIER/Minard |
| 25.10.2022 | Funeral | Ghent (be) | VIERNULVIER/Minard |
| 22.10.2022 | Funeral | Antwerp (be) | DE SINGEL |
| 21.10.2022 | Funeral | Antwerp (be) | DE SINGEL |
| 08.10.2022 | Funeral (French Premiere) | Cavaillon (fr) | La Garance - Scène nationale de Cavaillon |
| 07.10.2022 | Funeral (French Premiere) | Cavaillon (fr) | La Garance - Scène nationale de Cavaillon |
| 06.10.2022 | Funeral (French Premiere) | Cavaillon (fr) | La Garance - Scène nationale de Cavaillon |
| 01.10.2022 | Funeral (World Premiere) | Rotterdam (nl) | Theater Rotterdam |
| 30.09.2022 | Funeral (World Premiere) | Rotterdam (nl) | Theater Rotterdam |
| 29.09.2022 | Funeral (World Premiere) | Rotterdam (nl) | Theater Rotterdam |