How much violence can we endure? Etcetera x NTGent x rekto:verso

We live in violent times, with the war in Ukraine and the immeasurably cruel conflict in Gaza as mournful depths. Do we look violence straight in the eye? Or do we avert our gaze? How much violence do we endure before we act? And is violence in response to previous violence a justifiable strategy?

For the fifth time, city theatre NTGent and performing arts magazine Etcetera join forces for a day of reflection on a pressing theme. For the second time, rekto:verso, magazine for culture and criticism, is also joining in. There will be a panel discussion, statements and a people's assembly. Guests include Dr. Sibo Kanobana, choreographer Arkadi Zaides, theatre makers Maaike Neuville, Jolente De Keersmaeker, Lisa Vereertbrugghen and Chokri Ben Chikha.

The tragedy of violence is making its way, even through culture and the arts. Violence has always done so, but today the question is on edge: can violence confront, can it be purifying, should it offer insights or incite action? Is violence on stage unlawfully silenced or forced to reveal itself? When does institutional silence become hurtful, and online shouting suffocating?

Think, listen and debate with us!

Programme

⏱ 1 pm: Welcome by Etcetera and rekto:verso

⏱ 1.10 pm - 1.30 pm: Performance by Ahilan Ratnamohan

⏱ 1.30 pm - 3 pm: "The return of tragic consciousness and Greek tragedy on stage" : panel discussion with Maaike Neuville, Jolente De Keersmaeker and Chokri Ben Chikha, moderated by dramaturge Joline Vermeulen.

⏱ 3.10 pm - 3.30 pm: "Feel yourself, a techno meditation" by Lisa Vereertbrugghen

⏱ 3.30 pm - 4.10 pm: Statements by...

🎤 Sébastien Hendrickx: "Climate hysterical propaganda. On the 'More Than Enough' campaign"
🎤 Sibo Kanobana: "Radical imagination. Sabotage as emancipation"
🎤 Hildegard De Vuyst: "BDS: So feasible. So why don't we do it?"
🎤 Arkadi Zaides: "Embodied Witnessing: Choreography, Violence, and the Role of the Spectator."

⏱ 4.10 pm - 4.30 pm: Talk w/ snack "Pledge under a Tree" by Samah Hijawi (lecture performance).

⏱ 4.30 pm - 6 pm: People's Assembly with speakers and audience