Gruis/aan de twijfel Jesse Vandamme & Werktoneel / NTGent

In the nihilistic universe of the author Willem Frederik Hermans, reality is a barely fathomable chaos. Nevertheless, the characters who populate this universe are plagued by the desire to lend meaning to the banality of their daily lives. Lonely figures plough their way through impossible tasks and risk losing themselves in meaningless details.

Gruis/ aan de twijfel  forms a backdrop for those who no longer experience reality as normal, thus serving as an antidote to reason for those who have lost their senses and embraced paranoia. As an antidote to reason, they make insanity tangible and show that the world can only be approached from a manic mental state.

After Solipsists  (2022), the KASK alumni of Werktoneel – Jesse Vandamme, Louise Bergez, Lucas Van der Vegt, Joeri Happel and Lucie Plasschaert – are continuing their investigation of human isolation. Whereas Solipsists focused on individual consciousness and the extent of its subjectivity, Hermans’ oeuvre offers the group a new angle for their explorations. Supported by a soundtrack based on sounds from heavy industry, the production is an antidote to our self-declared transparent and positive society, offering a critique of our desperate optimism about progress.