All the good
In 2014, Jan Lauwers met the Israeli elite soldier and war veteran Elik Niv, who after a terrible accident and long convalescence became a professional dancer. During their long conversations about his military career and life as a dancer in the safe and subsidized world of dance in Germany, the bombs exploded in Zaventem airport and the Maelbeek metro station.
All the Good is a story with a double autobiographical background: on the one hand, Elik’s life, and on the other, Lauwers’ life with Grace Ellen Barkey and their children – in a house and workspace in the maligned Molenbeek. Ever-present death mercilessly intrudes on their lives constantly, both in the safety of their home and in the outside world. All the Good is also the story of the young girl Romy, who is convinced that the world is good. During a trip in China, she meets Elik while throwing up in an alleyway after drinking snake blood. The meeting changes her life.
All the Good is about loss and hope. It is a love story in an age in which Europe is throwing its values to the wind and a growing group of people is being seduced by hate and intolerance.
All the good is a uniquely beautiful experience, not unlike spending an evening at a long table having dinner with friends old and new. Everyone gets to have their say, no matter how unconventional. —Frankfurter Allgemeine
Exuberant, bewildering but nevertheless delightful. All the good explores the complexity of the world. — Deutschlandfunk
Jan Lauwers doesn't shy away from provocation. All the good is a rich and thought-provoking theatrical experience that tackles the big themes of art and life. — Kulturwelt
text, direction, set Jan Lauwers | music Maarten Seghers | with Grace Ellen Barkey, Romy Louise Lauwers, Victor Lauwers, Jan Lauwers, Inge Van Bruystegem, Benoît Gob, Elik Niv, Yonier Camilo Mejia, Jules Beckman, Simon Lenski, Maarten Seghers, Elke Janssens | costumes Lot Lemm | dramaturgy Elke Janssens | lighting design Ken Hioco, Jan Lauwers | sound Ditten Lerooij | production management Marjolein Demey | technical director, set Ken Hioco | masks Lot Lemm, Benoît Gob | assistant technical director Tijs Michiels | stage assistant Nina Lopez Le Galliard | tour technician Saul Mombaerts, Bram Geldhof, Dries D’Hondt, Jannes Dierynck | assistant costumes Lieve Meeussen | intern costumes Marion Thomasson | intern P.U.L.S. Lisaboa Houbrechts | English language coach Helen McNamara | French language coach Anny Czupper | English translation Gregory Ball | French translation Anne Vanderschueren | German translation Rosi Wiegmann | production Needcompany | in partnership with RIJEKA 2020 Llc. in the framework of Rijeka 2020 – European Capital of Culture, Croatian National Theatre “Ivan pl. Zajc” | co-production Ruhrtriennale, Festival Reims Scènes d’Europe, Concertgebouw Brugge, La Colline Paris | co-presentation Kaaitheater, Zürcher Theater Spektakel, Teatro Central de Sevilla, Toneelhuis, Malta festival | Tax Shelter financing uFund nv, Melissa Thomas, Christel Simons | with the support of the Belgian Federal Government’s Tax Shelter & the Flemish authorities
Join us on Thu 9/01 for a post-performance talk with the artists, mod. by Tom Rummens.