Wie is bang

Els Dottermans and Han Kerckhoffs, who are also partners in real life, play an old acting couple who, after many years, take stock of their love for each other and their profession.

Two older actors once were undisputed stars of subsidised theatre, but then they switched to the private circuit. Feeding on their fame, they wanted to make good money for a few seasons with a popular repertory classic ‘Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf’. Afterwards, they would simply return to the 'official' circuit. However, they were never invited back. All their other private productions flopped. Only the cursed classic continues to attract people. Night after night, they are condemned to face each other in the same role.
Only their opponents change. This time, these are two young actors for whom they receive a grant because of their foreign origin. The first encounter immediately brings all the simmering conflicts to the foreground. There is a gap between generations and sexes, and an abyss between the predilection for the canon and the urge for the contemporary.
In Wie is bang, quarrelling is the ultimate way of making love.

In his characteristically sharp style, Tom Lanoye addresses fundamental questions about theatre: is the staging of classics otherworldly or pertinent? Is our theatre as an art form universal or Eurocentric, white and bygone? And is theatre still relevant at all in times of Netflix?

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direction Koen De Sutter text Tom Lanoye play  Tarikh Janssen, Dilan Yurdakul, Els Dottermans and Han Kerckhoffs dramaturghy  Alex Mallems a production of Theaterproductiehuis Zeelandia and NTGent photo Lex de Meester