A composite evening of new and existing scenes, short pieces and one-act plays, possibly alternated with music and dance. Different actors, dancers or musicians will take part at different times in a variety of pieces.

The young Iraqi theatre maker Mokhallad Rasem (28) left Baghdad and came to Belgium in 2006. He is literally a man of many wars, as his generation has known little else. The son of one of Iraq’s most famous actors, he completed his studies in acting and directing and worked at the National Theatre in Baghdad for more than five years. 

The Austrian choreographer Philipp Gehmacher invites ten dancers and choreographers to talk about their work, idiom and (dance) history in movements and words. On the bill this evening: Eleanor Bauer and Daniel Linehan.

The Austrian choreographer Philipp Gehmacher invites ten dancers and choreographers to talk about their work, idiom and (dance) history in movements and words. On the bill tonight: Rémy Héritier and Meg Stuart.

The Austrian choreographer Philipp Gehmacher invites ten dancers and choreographers to talk about their work, idiom and (dance) history in movements and words. On the bill tonight: Pieter Ampe and Martin Nachbar.

Matijević and Chico give an associative view of how they experienced 1989, the year the Wall fell and the world was turned upside down. Their material consists of authentic and fictional audio documents either made in 1989 or related to it by content: pop songs, excerpts from radio and TV shows, private recordings and so on. This second part concentrates on sound.

Barbara Matijević and Giuseppe Chico present their own form of ‘history’ in three sparkling, imaginative and highly entertaining lecture performances. In I AM 1984, Barbara Matijević takes us on a journey through the year 1984. She shows us bits of world history, science fiction, film, the virtual world of internet, and video games.

The Portuguese writer and theatre-maker Patricia Portela discovered a box containing the writings and designs of Acácio Nobre, an early 20th-century Portuguese member of the avant-garde whose name has been erased from the history books. Using a vintage typewriter and wireless keyboard she brings Nobre’s work back to life and so questions the collective memory of a nation.

The choreographer Boris Charmatz, director of the Musée de la danse/Centre Choréographique in Rennes, talks to Cosmin Costinaș, curator of BAK (Base for Contemporary Art) in Utrecht, about his Musée and about two of its projects: expo zero, an exhibition without objects, and Brouillon, where performers ‘activate’ an exhibition-in-progress showing works of art. An opening discussion that sets the tone for this festival.

The legendary Discordia will present two productions in the Kaaistudios. In Marionett, Discordia appears to allow the audience to pull the strings: indeed the actors present themselves as puppets. They use the puppet-show as a metaphor for free will: ‘to what extent do you play yourself or are you played?’?

Want to see beyond the backdrop? In five talks (in Dutch), the Kaaitheater will guide you through the oeuvres of several leading artists on the programme this season. Between the talk and the show we shall satisfy your other appetites with soup and bread.