Byzantium
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Wed 15 Apr '2620:30 - 23:25Intermission 21:40Philipszaal
At restaurant Byzantium , the closure leaves little but a dislocated workforce: the dishwasher is a punctually late dishwasher, the oven is operated by a cross-border chef, and in service, a brutal drunk of a waiter would rather drink the wine himself than serve it. Everyone is chasing their own dream as the restaurant slowly goes under. A shrewd businesswoman is eager to turn it into a crematorium. Ovens are ovens.
In this first co-production between Het Zuidelijk Toneel and the Flemish Abattoir Fermé, Stef Lernous directs a playful and slightly disconcerting spectacle about the backside of the catering industry. Think ambition boiling over, egos burning and nothing really staying fris . The spectacle unfolds in two parts. Separated by a hundred years in the past or the future; who's to say?
The media about Byzantium
"Byzantium is a visual total spectacle - served on a bed of horror. Lernous is a master at revealing the ugly sides of man." (VRT NWS BE)
"With Byzantium , Abattoir Fermé thus once again very skillfully serves up its familiar universe of existential angst and grotesque bodies." (Etcetera BE)
"Visually tasty and confidently served up as the chef's special, with a greasy bow around it."
Credits
Direction and text Stef Lernous Play Keja Klaasje Kwestro, Julia Ghysels, Louis van der Waal, Tine van den Wyngaert, Chiel van Berkel, Kirsten Pieters, Steve Geerts