Give Up, Old Ghosts!

In Give Up, Old Ghosts! director Benjamin Meirhaeghe takes us behind the curtains of memory. Our ability to remember and pass on collective knowledge comprises the dramatic arc of the production. 

Give Up, Old Ghosts! is an encounter between performers from different generations and artistic backgrounds, the centrepiece being Mozart’s unfinished Requiem. Two pianists, at one time teacher and student, play it live on stage. How do we remember, learn and pass something on?

Quoting from her dance repertoire, Fumiyo Ikeda depicts what a body remembers. The performers explore how to pave the way to a future where there is no violence and oppression, but magic instead. Scenographer Jozef Wouters – who was inspired by a haunted house – transforms the stage into an echo chamber of sounds and images from the past and present. 

The show is a ‘memory palace’ with the atmosphere of a spiritual séance. What would it be like to talk with the stars? When will the past haunt us? Should we get rid of the old ghosts so that the future can finally begin?