Slovakia, What’s the Story, Mum?
Katja Dreyer & Peter Savel
- Fri 20.6 19:00 — 20:15 Antigone
Theater
Spoken in English, no surtitles
Trigger warnings
- Strobe lights, shrill sounds and deep bass
- This performance includes scenes depicting (verbal) abuse and suicide
She was born into ‘one of those countries’ that do not exist anymore, in the East. The land still exists, the mountains, rivers, forests, the language, the people still exist – but also not. She was born into a place she needed to leave.
1968: Soviet troops invade Czechoslovakia. A period of hope and socialism comes to an abrupt end, also known as the Prague Spring. A young woman rises from her chair and decides to leave her country. Others decide to stay.
Slovakia – What’s the Story, Mum? is about a daughter who tries to understand her mother’s story. It’s about freedom, courage and resilience, about care and chaos, and it’s about yesterday and today. On stage, two performers and dancers tell the story of an exile, reconstructing the border crossings and the shifts between languages and cultures. In doing so, they address fundamental questions about the transmission of trauma across generations and bodies, taboos and the movements that break free.
TIP: You can combine this performance with the premiere of Carolina Mendonça Something is Approaching in budascoop!
“The performance is a powerful exploration of memory, language, and the burdens of history.”
Credits
Concept/text/creation/performance Katja Dreyer Creation/movement/performance Peter Savel Sound creation/performance Anne Van de Star Sound advice Benne Dousselaere Dramaturgy Esther Severi Scenography & costume design Anna Halász Lighting Geni Diez Outside eyes Willem de Wolf, Rodrigo Batista Image Britt Hatzius Thanks to Nova Synagoga, Stanica-Zilina (Slovakia), REZI.DANCE (Komařice, Czech Republic), kunstencentrum BUDA (Kortrijk), Monty (Antwerp), KWP Pianofabriek (Brussels), Workspacebrussels (Brussels), HELLERAU – Europäisches Zentrum der Künste (Kaaitheater), Barbora Jombíková, Marketa Malkova, Ľubomír Šavel, Beata Šavelová, Maria Danizova, Saskia Ottis, Britt Hatzius, Helga Duchamps, Jan van Gijsel, Anneleen Masschelein With the support of De Vlaamse Overheid, Flanders State of Arts