This curated Beckett evening presents a surprising mix of forms: a monologue by Johan Leysen; a video lecture by philosopher and mathematician Jean Paul Van Bendegem; and a performative scenography as a possible landscape for a Beckett text. Through this combination, Kris Verdonck explores a fascination that he shares with Beckett, namely technology and the increasing conflict between humans and machines.

A man commits a terrorist attack in a museum of contemporary art, killing 49 children and a teacher. He waits on death row for seven years. A week before his execution, he convinces the police detective who was in charge of his case to join him for his last meal. What meaning do these two men hope to find in the death that they both desire, each in their own way?

Rétrospective is Jérôme Bel’s subjective reflection on his own work. He chose eighteen dance fragments from his video archive. Through meticulous editing, he has used them to reconstruct the development of his thinking about dance. By emphasizing the links between dance and politics, he foregrounds central themes in his work. After the film screening, there will be an extended conversation with the choreographer.