Schemer

It’s night. It’s raining outside. We would hear the thunderstorm approaching from afar, if the music wasn’t so loud. Inside the café, the light is dim. The dark red curtains carefully block out the reality. It smells of stale beer, air freshener with summer breeze, sweat and cigarette smoke. The floor is sticky from spilt drinks and crushed ambitions. But make no mistake: here, the air sizzles with boisterous zest for life. With roguish glances, tall tales and good intentions. While the outside world thunders past at a crazy pace, in this pub everyone sings and dances, mourns and celebrates with every fibre of their body. You’re most welcome.

Together with residents of Ghent, Antwerp and Mechelen, director Maja Westerveld creates a performance in which the café becomes their meeting place. She herself is a member of the Mechelen-based company Abattoir Fermé, which alternates musical theatre with visual creations, dance, text theatre and opera. Central to her work are productions for and by a wide audience, regardless of age or culture. In Schemer (Twilight) she brings city dwellers together and weaves their stories into a polyphonic tableau.