Swallow Me Whole

A biologist, alone, in largely unexplored territory. Armed with a fascination with fungi, octopuses, and ecosystems, she quickly finds her defences falter against the immensity of the preternatural forces that she encounters on her expedition. The more she doesn't know, the more infected she becomes. Until we are one.

Swallow Me Whole is a solo performance, inspired by Jeff VanderMeer's weird novel Annihilation. Both works question Western scientists' relationship with nature and the true meaning of observation and obsession. By blurring and abstracting the boundaries between the character's physical and mental states, this piece explores what it means to face the incomprehensible.

This performance is part of Ecopolis 2023: Hope is Action. Find the entire programme here.

• Flora Van Canneyt is a theatre maker, performer and playwright. She studied English Literature at Ghent University, and then Drama at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp and RITCS in Brussels. Playing with the political potential of radical imagination, her work explores themes of ecology, philosophy of science, and the identity of 'the outsider'.

• Ans Van Gasse (she/her/they/them) is a story teller in theatre, performance and visual media. She holds a Master in Theatre & Film studies at Uantwerpen and is finishing a Master’s degree in writing for film and performance at RITCS school of arts. They are active as a communication officer in the field of inclusive dance and their main aspiration is to create stories that can hold the myriad of perspectives on the world. She pursues this on and off the stage, through illustrations and sounds.