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Theater aan Zee Festival Opens in Ostend with 'Message in a Bottle' Theme

From VRT NWS · () Dutch

Translated from Dutch, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • The 29th edition of the Theater aan Zee festival has begun in Ostend, Belgium, featuring a diverse program of established artists and emerging talent.
  • This year's theme, 'Message in a bottle,' explores listening to the sea and its role as a narrator, with a focus on human rights and their violations.
  • Highlights include Chokri Ben Chikha's new play 'Dignity' and a unique 'boat concert' experience curated by Sarah Yu Zeebroek.

Ostend, Belgium, is buzzing with the opening of the 29th Theater aan Zee festival, a vibrant celebration of performing arts that continues to blend the work of seasoned artists with the innovative creations of young talents. Artistic director Cindy Godefroi expressed her delight in providing a platform for a multitude of voices, each carrying their unique perspectives.

In a world that is so loud, so shrill, and so hard, I find it nice that we can offer space to so many different voices with so many different backpacks.

— Cindy GodefroiArtistic director of Theater aan Zee, on the festival's diverse programming.

This year's festival theme, 'Message in a bottle,' invites audiences to contemplate the sea as a narrator. Godefroi explained her long-held desire to incorporate the sea into the festival's narrative, posing the question: "What if it could talk?" This theme resonates with the festival's commitment to examining the world and our role within it, echoing the sentiment of The Police's song, 'Send an SOS to the world.'

I have wanted to try and include the sea as a narrator for a long time. How can we listen to that sea? What if she could talk?

— Cindy GodefroiArtistic director of Theater aan Zee, explaining the inspiration behind the festival's theme.

A significant focus this year is on human rights and the ongoing violations thereof, championed by festival 'Golfbrekers' Walter Van Steenbrugge and Sarah Yu Zeebroek. Director Chokri Ben Chikha's new performance, 'Dignity,' directly addresses this through the establishment of a Tunisian truth commission in exile. Adding a unique dimension, the 'Gedane-golven-nemen-geen-keer' boat concert offers an immersive experience where the sea itself becomes a co-performer, with audiences surrendering to the rhythm of the waves.

Those boat concerts are a different experience because the sea is a co-player. We are going to surrender to those waves, we don't know when we will return, we might get seasick.

— Cindy GodefroiArtistic director of Theater aan Zee, describing the unique 'boat concert' experience.

Among the many compelling performances, 'Being Britney,' by emerging artist Colette Goossens, delves into themes of mental health. Goossens portrays a young woman experiencing psychosis who believes she is pop star Britney Spears. The performance is deeply personal, inspired by Goossens' own experience with psychosis following the death of her brother, Camille, when she was 16. The play aims to shed light on psychoses and challenge the stigma surrounding mental health, moving beyond clinical diagnoses to explore the human experience of feeling unseen.

It's often about diagnoses, medication, and treatment paths. I made this for my brother too. But also to help the world understand psychoses better.

— Colette GoossensThe performer of 'Being Britney,' discussing her motivations for the play.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by VRT NWS in Dutch. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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