Testament

Black humour, existential horror and science fiction

The Mechelen collective Abattoir Fermé was founded in 1999 and in a very short time has developed a theatrical idiom very much its own. Stef Lernous, Nick Kaldunski, Joost Vandecasteele and Tine Van de Wyngaert share a fascination for the outsider, the underground and everything that deviates from the norm. Their nasty but witty plays can best be described as existential horror theatre. As De Standaard wrote, ‘Abattoir Fermé means beauty that only shows itself in the midst of dirt and uncertainty. Amidst fear and mild perversion, like a flower on a dungheap.’

In spring the Kaaitheater and the Beursschouwburg are presenting two productions by Abattoir Fermé. Tinseltown is (after Indie) the second part of their Chaos Trilogy. It is inspired by the ugliest and most beautiful sides of Hollywood, and tells a tale of characters who, with a courage born of hope, pursue a dream in a city where you only get one chance. Sin, self-glorification and depression are nowhere found so close together.

In Testament, death is thrown on the dissecting table. From graveyard to public dissection, from autopsy to mourning: you will see death in all its guises.

NB: Tickets for Tinseltown can only be purchased in the Beursschouwburg.