Flesh can’t can’ t not’t ‘tis flesh h...
Imagine a sci-fi world shaped by the musical genre of reggaeton, the urban dance perreo, the linguistic experience of accessing everyday life through a limited understanding of English, and the historical connection of Central America with the export of exotic fruits.
After El cantar del playo or... a song is a rose is a thorn, Mario Barrantes returns to Kaaitheater with Flesh can’t can’ t not’t ‘tis flesh h…, a multimedia performance that mixes live music, projection of text, dance and sculpture. Two burning bodies guide us through the landscapes of a foreign world, to explore the bittersweet ventures of the Global South-Global North migration, and to trace part of the queer histories found in the Central American region.
Get in the mood with the Flesh can’t can’t not’t ‘tis flesh h... playlist!
• Mario Barrantes Espinoza (1991) is a Costa Rican-Nicaraguan artist based in Brussels. Having graduated from P.A.R.T.S, they went on to collaborate with François Chaignaud, Théo Mercier, Benjamin Abel Meirhaeghe, Jozef Wouters, Michiel Vandevelde and Eszter Salamon, and to perform as guest artist for musician Peaches and The Subs. Their work articulates performance, the (re)writing of texts, and the use of voice, with materials sourced from pop culture and mainstream media. In 2023, Mario curated the first edition of the Culo shaking night... 'til tears get dry at Kaaitheater, around their first performance, El cantar del playo.
concept, performance and texts Mario Barrantes Espinoza | performance Luis Javier Murillo Zúñiga | artistic assistance and texts Theo Livesey | dramaturgy and texts Martín Zícari | wax sculptures Mona Oren | light design Ryoya Fudetani | light Assistance Yuika Koizumi | Laser Lenaic Pujol | Music Luis Miguel Ramírez aka DJ Amapola | Costume direction Nikos Kalaz | silicone sculptures Moran Sanderovich | stage design Amalia Jaulin | technical Assistance Milan Van Doren | video projections Federico Vladimir Strate Pezdirc | production Hiros | co-production Kaaitheater, Toneelhuis, VIERNULVIER, DeSingel, Kunstenwerkplaats, Perpodium | residencies workspacebrussels, Kunstencentrum BUDA | in collaboration with KAAP, STUK | with the support of de Vlaamse Overheid and the tax shelter of the Belgian Federal Government via uFund | special thanks to Robbe Embrechts, Tembi De Koninck, Rinus Chaerle, Amy Clark, and Nathan Isahakyan
