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Billy’s Violence
Ticket prices
- Billy's Violence: € 25 (section 1) – € 23 (section 2) – € 18 (section 3)
- Billy Violence + Billy's Joy: € 37 (section 1) – € 33 (section 2) – € 27 (section 3)
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Shakespeare is the most read and performed writer the world has ever known. And yet many of the bard’s plays are virtually unperformable due to their violence, gruesomeness, racism and misogyny. What does violence in art mean in today’s world? Why do we enjoy watching it so much? Is violence viewed differently today than it was in the 16th-17th century?
For Billy's Violence, Victor Afung Lauwers researched ten tragedies of Shakespeare and rewrote them into violently loving, intimate dialogues in which the woman is the central focus, stripped of any historical reference or anecdotal content. You never saw Shakespeare this boned and stripped down. This is a Needcompany performance par excellence: Maarten Seghers is responsible for the music, Jan Lauwers for the direction, set, and costumes, all with an international and intergenerational cast.
English and Spanish spoken, with Dutch and English surtitles
"It is not dissimilar to Quentin Tarantino. Is it gratuitous, entertaining, or is it necessary or impossible? Quentin Tarantino is a choirboy by comparison to the sheer brutality evoked by Shakespeare." (Jan Lauwers)
This performance includes scenes of nudity and violence (against women).
Double Bill(y) with Billy's Joy
A double bill featuring the works of William - Billy - Shakespeare. You can watch each performance separately, they are not sequels of each other. But you can also go for the full experience!
More info
text Victor Afung Lauwers music Maarten Seghers direction, set and costumes Jan Lauwers with Nao Albet, Grace Ellen Barkey, Gonzalo Cunill, Martha Gardner, Romy Louise Lauwers, Juan Navarro, Maarten Seghers and Meron Verbelen dramaturgy Elke Janssens and Erwin Jans lighting design Ken Hioco technique and production Marjolein Demey, Ken Hioco and Tijs Michiels assistant costumes and props and surtitles Nina Lopez Le Galliard production Needcompany co-production Festival Grec de Barcelona, Teatre Nacional de Catalunya, Teatro Español y Naves del Español en Matadero, Teatro Central (Sevilla), Les Salins - Scène Nationale de Martigues, Cultuurcentrum Brugge tax shelter financing BNP Paribas Fortis Film Finance NV/SA realized with the support of the Tax Shelter of the Belgian Federal Government and the Flemish Government
