A cancelled actor and a young actress are preparing for POWERPLAY. The actress agreed to the project because she feels it’s important to talk about power dynamics within the performing arts sector. She is headstrong and above all wants to feel “something”: to get on the floor, to play! Faced with that much bravado, the actor falters. He reasons, reflects, freezes…

Between them lies a generation gap, a difference in training, and the power imbalance between a fallen star and a rising talent.

The actress:

Tonight, we begin again each time.

We won’t finish anything.

So now you know.
 

You may watch.

No talking,

no singing,

no standing up.

And preferably no coughing either.

He’s very sensitive to it.
 

In a moment, when he starts speaking, it will be about him.

But not yet.

For now, I have your attention.
 

Every beginning is a small lie

in which everything is still possible

no grand gesture.

A hand that moves

a human being who acts

as if they were someone else.

Hoping, at last, to be allowed to be themselves.
 

For POWERPLAY, Valentijn Dhaenens sits in the director’s chair for the first time. He spoke with actors Bruno Vanden Broecke and Andie Dushime about their personal experiences. Together they investigate: has theatre become a minefield under the influence of social sensitivities? And can theatre still exist under these circumstances?