Berichten

Musical and theatrical summer internship with young people from Belgium and Macedonia. A first European intercultural exchange project of young aspiring artists (16-30 years) in which collaboration with the Roma Community is central.

Result

• 22 participants
• 3 presentations in Wallonia: Liège, Neufchateau and Malmedy
• Spectators: 800

Credits

• Artistic: musical accompaniment by Nicolas Hauzeur (Belgium) and Nevrus Bajram (Macedonia).
• Social: Jonas Mertens and Sait Sehersijan
• Organizational: in collaboration with 'Bij' de Vieze Gasten (Ghent) and MIR (Skopje/Macedonia)
• Support: European project grants / Erasmus + /JINT KA1

Music project with singing between the cities of Ghent, Antwerp and Brussels that starts from an intercultural artistic encounter with special attention to the encounter with the Roma community. Teaching and sharing traditional Roma music from Slovakia, Balkans and Romania. 

Result

• 75 participants with a super diverse line-up
• 6 presentations in the 3 cities.
• Spectators: 1,600

Credits

• Artistic: musical accompanists Martin Balogh and Mattias Laga (Ghent) Nicolas Hauseur and Jo Zanders (Brussels), Edwin van Vinckenroye and  Julhan Emini (Antwerp).
• Social counselors: Jonas Mertens and Sait Sehersijan
• Organizational: in collaboration with Globe Aroma (Brussels) De Foyer (Brussels) Bij' de Vieze Gasten (Ghent), De Roma (Antwerp) and Enterfestival.
• Support: Flemish Arts and Heritage project subsidy

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Musical theater around the theme of 'death' and the will to live.

Result

• 46 participants from the Antwerp region: 13 players, 25 singers, 9 musicians
• 5 Presentations
• Spectators: 750

Credits

• Artistic: brass band 'Hop Frog' (9 members) led by Bert Bernaerts, actors Joke Emmers and Luk 'D Heu
• Organizational: The Roma
• Support: project subsidy Flemish – Arts and Heritage, City of Antwerp, Borgerhout district

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Research into the situation of the Roma communities in Europe in preparation for possible cooperation with the Roma Community. This resulted in a film documentary.

Result

• More than 150 participants in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Bulgaria and Serbia 
• Presentation: at several places at home and abroad, including lectures about this project in Skopje and study days in Antwerp and Ghent.
• Spectators: more than 1,000

Credits

• Artistic: filmmaker Nico Bunnik, voice-over Herman Dewinné (Dutch and English)
• Organizational: various NGOs in the Balkans
• Support: Province of Antwerp

The story of the rise and fall of the family business 'Strop & Strik'. A story about entrepreneurship and the desire for profit, which responds to current events. In the form of street theater we presented theater, singing, music and film. 

Result

• 80 participants: actors in the film, singers and musicians on the street
• 25 presentations in Antwerp and Ghent
• Spectators: more than 7,000

Credits

• Artistic: music composition: Joris van Vinckenroye, filmmaker Tinus Holthuis (Studio Flek)
• Organizational: Enterfestival Ghent
• Support: project subsidy Flemish – Arts and Heritage

Various people who live near Madam Fortuna were interviewed about life, living and working in Borgerhout. The result? A film documentary.

Result

• 8 participants: local residents. 
• 2 presentations in your own room
• Spectators: 250

Credits

• Filmmaker Ellen Vermeulen
• Support: Borgerhout district

A film documentary about work and happiness

Mother, why do we work?

Are we appreciated enough for our work? Do we earn enough? Do we enjoy working? Do we stand behind the products we make?

Madam Fortuna went looking for the job satisfaction of people in the city of Antwerp. People from all walks of life were interviewed. From the asylum seeker who is officially not allowed to work, to the CEO in the port who sends thousands of workers to all continents.

Result

• 10 participants
• 10 presentations in various halls in Antwerp
• Spectators: more than 1,000 
• The documentary was purchased by Atlas (integration and integration).

Credits

• Camera and editing: Tinus Holthuis
• Concept and direction: Luk Nys
• Production: Arts workshop Madam Fortuna in collaboration with Flek.
• Organizational: Rataplan
• Support: Flemish – Arts and Heritage project subsidy

A revue about the wonderful world of the superlative. Come and see!

The generous revue master Luk D'Heu and his world-famous fanfare 't Accord go in search of the giants among us. Virtuosos, charlatans, professors and other able-bodied people from all corners of the universe show their skills. With or without a safety net.

A crazy brass band, a gang of passionate storytellers and singers from all corners of the city join the audience in search of the giant in all of us. 'The Man in the Giant' is a revue about courage, tender pride and beauty.

Result

• 57 participants: players and musicians
• Presentations: 11 presentations in Rataplan
• Spectators:  1,100 

Credits

• Artistic: the fanfare 't Akkeur (40 members) led by Bert Bernaerts, actors Luk 'd Heu and Juan Trukyman
• Organizational: Rataplan, De Roma
• Support: Flemish – Arts and Heritage project subsidy, city of Antwerp and Borgerhout district

Do you also have such a super profile on Facebook? Are you also perfect at work? Have you also found a partner who can do everything?

'The courage to be imperfect' by Madam Fortuna is about the pressure we put on ourselves. About playing a game or being sincere. About contact with yourself or going with the flow. To be or not to be.

After the success of 'The Man in the Giant', Madam Fortuna was a guest in Rataplan again. Once again with a colorful group of players, musicians and singers from all corners of society. With a solid groove, infectious fun, words from Shakespeare and words from us, humor and sadness. But above all: the attempt to be vulnerable.

Result

• 27 participants:  participants with very diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds
• 7  presentations
• Spectators:  1050 

Credits

• Artistic: musicians Hanne de Backer, Kris Strijbos, Tim Coenen, actors Zukisa Nante and Kim Hertoghs
• Organizational: Rataplan
• Support: Flemish – Arts and Heritage project subsidy, the city of Antwerp, Borgerhout district

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Het Broed: The Great War in living rooms in Borgerhout

'Het Gebroed' brought together large and small stories of 'The Great War'. 3 stories, each with a different perspective on the horrors of war. An old war veteran tries to put memories into words. 4 women wait, wrapped in loneliness, for the return of a prodigal son. A corporal walks hesitantly into a living room with a painful order.

'Het Gebroed' fraternized during the 3 last weekend of September 2014 in Borgerhout. Every weekend 'Het Gebroed' played in a different 'theater street': 3 different show moments (What if I take my problems to the United Nations - War for dummies - We can't go any further, we have to go further) were shown successively at local residents' homes. A living room, an attic, a workshop, a cellar. They served as a backdrop for 1 weekend. For two days, cars in the 'theater street' made way for a bar, a buffet, a performance, a performance. At the same time, a fun way to get to know the different neighborhoods of Borgerhout and its hospitable local residents better.

* What if I take my problem to the United Nations (Jan Hardies)

Benjamin Martien has not returned from the war. On the home front, the family practices staying behind. They commemorate and they drink. Out of necessity or out of habit. They undergo each other and Benjamin's absence in a ritual that evokes more than they had hoped for.

* War for dummies (Lies Ferny)

How do you start the Great War? Is it a matter of honor or retribution? Are you a victim or hero? Strategist or pawn? Traitor or resistance member? These dummies are trying to make something of it.

A little war is always better than nothing.

* We can't move on, we have to move on (Jan Hardies)

A man spends his life searching for a place and a form for his story. He mutters it and shouts it out. He wants to sing about it, wants to get rid of it. He can not get it done. Anyone who experiences a story like his can no longer close their eyes to anything.

Result

• 10 participants
• 24 presentations of 3 small performances
• Spectators: more than 900

Credits

• Artistic: directors Lies Ferny and Jan Hardies
• Organizational: residents of the 3 neighborhoods (Moorkensplein, Terloplein and Xaveriuscollege neighborhood)
• Support: Flemish Arts and Heritage project subsidy, city of Antwerp and Borgerhout district

Wannes Van de Velde sang in 1972: “I want to get lost in the streets this night. The sound of the city makes my soul amorous.”

43 years later. Our city has undergone a metamorphosis. Madam Fortuna wonders what the city sounds like today.

Lotte Heijtenis, Kikè Noviello, Peter Holvoet-Hanssen, Tinus Holthuis and Luk Nys led a diverse group of enthusiasts through the city. They were absorbed in its sounds, listened to the stories of its residents, formed a dam for the urban flow of poetry, theater, film and music. The result is musical theater that expresses the city at its most vibrant.

Result

• 48 participants with participants from 10 to 85 years old, socially and ethnically diverse
• 9 presentations in Cc Berchem, Cc Deurne Rix, Rataplan. 
• Spectators: 1000 

Credits

• Artistic: musical accompaniment by Enrique Noviello, text by Peter Holvoet, movement by Katja Pire, film by Tinus Holthuis.
• Organizational: cc Berchem, cc Deurne and Rataplan.
• Support: project subsidy from the city of Antwerp.

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GETTING LOST IN STORIES – The pleasantly crazy Dr. Adams invites you to his lab. He talks about the many inventions he has made in his beloved city. According to him, things should be different: he wants a brand new city every day. His assistant guides you through wide boulevards and alleys where you meet bizarre characters. Strange stories, comic images and moving music disrupt The Labyrinth of Dr. Adams. Will this still be okay?

Result

• 40 participants: 5 professional actors in collaboration with 15 young people, 10 extras/adults and 10 residents of the Den Olijftak service center (participants in the film).
• 10 performances on location / St Jansplein during Festival Zomer van Antwerpen. 
• Spectators: 4,250 

Credits

• Artistic: Artists collective Time Circus (visual), Tinus Holthuis (film) and actors Vitalski, Vanessa Broers, Jo Jochems, Idy Mbenge
• Social: Dorien Wijnants
• Organizational:  oc Het Oude Badhuis, Den Olijftak service center and De Zomer van Antwerpen. 
• Support:  Flemish Community and Summer of Antwerp
• Photo: © Sigrid Spinnox

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“Community of Villains” is about all of us locked in a VIP room with no emergency exit. Who are we in this world that seems to be transforming itself on its own? Or is there someone behind the controls? It is a story about the madness of flexi-working, delivered by a pizza delivery boy or a media trainer. It is a city symphony set to a fast rhythm where one person reclaims the past and the other sees the future as a revolutionary playground, but no one has a grip on the present anymore. It's about us. No, we're not villains. None of us are. We just carry on, that's how it is. Everything is normal. Only time is broken. A performance full of music, for and from everyone, and where Jacques Tati is our uncle.

Result

• 45 Participants
• 9 performances: cc Berchem, cc Deurne and oc Het Oude Badhuis. 
• 1000 spectators

Credits

• Artistic: Jeroen Olyslaegers (writer), Enrique Noviello (musician) Katja Pire (movement)
• Organizational:  in collaboration with cc Berchem, oc Het Oude Badhuis and cc Deurne in collaboration with various social services from the participating districts.
• Support: Flemish Community, project-based city of Antwerp, districts Deurne, Berchem and Antwerp

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 Street performance

A zebra crossing, where people cross each other, without time for meetings or contact. Choreographer and dancer Katja Pire creates a performance together with a number of (young) performers with the mission to meet each other in this place. A micro-relationship arises and develops within the time span of a traffic light.

This summer, Katja Pire is working in the rehearsal rooms of Fameus on her performance 'Don't walk - Boogie'. For this special performance that combines impro and choreo, Katja works with dancers, young and old. The result is an unusual dance performance in a special, unusual location. Suitable for all ages.

Result

• 9 participants
• 4 public presentation moments on location: Meir intersection, Turnhoutsebaan intersection at deRoma. 
• 250 spectators

Credits

• Artistic: choreographer Katja Pire.
• Photo: Katja Pire
• Support: Borgerhout district

In the run-up to the municipal elections on October 14, Madam Fortuna takes to the streets and gives citizens their vote. We sing and play about what our city has to offer and about what it lacks. 'Voice of the City' is a short street theater performance about the longing, joy and sadness of our city.

We will present ourselves in squares, in the streets. Both in the center and on the edge of the city. A group of 23 players, singers and musicians greet you!

Peter De Graef wrote the text based on the themes that our participants raised.

I WAS THINKING LAST NIGHT: WHAT SHOULD I SAY TOMORROW?!
WHAT ELSE IS RELEVANT TO SAY
IN A PERIOD WHEN EVERYONE THROWS EVERYTHING THAT COMES TO HIM INTO THE PUBLIC.
FREEDOM OF SPEECH.

NO ONE IS LOCKED UP. EVERYBODY. EVERYONE IS MORONIC.
IT WOULD BECOME ME TO BE SILENT NOW.
TO OFFER YOU THE SILENCE.

Result

• 23 participants
• 13 public presentation moments at various locations in the city: cathedral square, Mechelseplein, Krugerplein, Meir, Draakplaats, Dageraadplaats, Ter Rivierenhof (Ecodroom), Grote Omarming at the Plantin Moretuslei intersection, Kavka (afterparty the great embrace), Leopold De Waelplaats.
• 3800 spectators

Credits

• Artistic: musical compositions Enrique Noviello, playing: Zukisa Nante, Idy Mbenge and Andreas Nys, text: Peter de Graef.
• Organizational: in collaboration with Kavka, Ecodroom, De Grote embrace

Play the game. Jeopardize your job.

Don't be the main character. Seek confrontation.

But do it unintentionally. Avoid ulterior motives.

Be vulnerable and strong. Don't watch, don't prove anything,

but with all presence of mind remain open to signs'

(from 'About the villages' Peter Handke)

Madam Fortuna worked with a group of enthusiastic players on game improvisation. It is especially important to show yourself, to dare, to experience the joy of playing, to be in the moment.

Result

• 11 participants of which 7 take part in the presentations
• 3 presentations in our own room
• 200 spectators

Credits

• Artistic: game coach Bea van den Berg and Luk Nys 
• Support: Famous

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“Bonjour” I always said
and I jumped out of bed and ran outside
On my bare feet
On the warm ground

Africa

Bonjour, I always said
Hello warm earth!
Hello warm sun!
Hello hot birds!

But what do I mean by that?
Why am I saying this?
Why am I saying this to you?

A young man tries to build a future in a new country but is confronted with a reality that is very difficult for him to come to grips with. The text is inspired by 'Le Horla' by Guy de Maupassant. 'Never again a monologue' is a work in progress, the development of a creation with the Senegalese actor Idy Mbengue.

Result

• 1 presentation in Rataplan (October 14, 2018)
• 70 spectators

Credits

• Artistic: Idy Mbenge in collaboration with Luk Nys (game coach, text)
• Organizational: WIPCOOP and Rataplan
• Support:  Borgerhout district

To Ostend!
For a 'rendezvous musical' between Madam Fortuna and KleinVerhaal.
An introduction between 2 houses. A house in Antwerp and a house in Ostend.
With the question: what do these 2 houses have in common?
We will find the answer in 1 weekend.
It will be a special musical encounter between musicians from the Ostend Street Orchestra and musicians from MF projects. 2 full days that revolve around music and participation, research and experiment.

Result

• 16 participants
• 1 presentation for the employees of Klein Verhaal

Credits

• Collaboration between Madam Fortuna and Klein Verhaal. Location: Klein Verhaal / Ostend.

The European Caravan – 4th edition

Grandma was a spirited explorer. She wandered all her life. She traveled through Africa, the Middle East and Europe. She found something valuable in every culture. After all, she is very open minded. And everywhere she went, she fell in love and… children were born.

Now she is a day older and she looks back on her beautiful life. She still has an important wish and hopes that her children and grandchildren will fulfill it. That wish sounds like an oracle about 'people, money and earth'. Every member of the family puts a spin on it. And this is not without consequences. A passionate struggle for life and death ensues. Where is this family headed?

Our musical theater performance 'If we dance, grandma won't die' played at the most fantastic festival in the city: SUMMER OF ANTWERP edition 2019.

We are a very large, young and mixed gang with players, young people, singers and Roma musicians from Antwerp, Ghent, Barcelona and Skopje (Macedonia). Professionals and enthusiasts bring together the life story of a special grandmother and her family.

Result

• Participants: 34
  • Musicians: Martin Balogh (accordion and piano), Robert Mihalik (guitar), Anouk Sanczuk (violin), Jeanneke Van Roeyen (violin), Norbert Makula (violin), Nevrus Bajram (bass guitar), Dragan Teodosiev (drum), Tehamana Gauguin (trumpet), Mario Roca (guitar), David Canal (guitar), Pier Paolo Candeloro (saxophone and clarinet), Stefaan Blancke (saxophone and trombone). 
  • Players: Edith Verlinden, Andreas Nys, Gwendolin Van Jole, Zukisa Nante, Hussein Mahdi Al-Khalidi 
  • Dancers: 12 young people between 11 and 16 years old from Luchtbal, Kiel and Antwerp-Noord. 
  • 10 members of the choir Al Kantar of Madam Fortuna
• 10 performances
• 5000 spectators

Credits

• Artistic:
  • music coach and compositions: Enrique Noviello,
  • movement coach: Sandra Delgadillo,
  • text coach: Bea van den Berg,
  • dramaturgical input: An Hackselmans,
  • text:  a theater text by Peter de Graef.
  • game coach and final director: Luk Nys. 
• Social: Sait Seharsijan, Jonas Mertens and Srdjan Amet 
• Organizational: Madam Fortuna in collaboration with M.I.R. (Skopje/Macedonia), Taller de Musics (Barcelona/Spain) and 'Bij de Vieze Gasten' (Ghent/Belgium) and THE SUMMER OF ANTWERP. 
• Support:  Summer of Antwerp and City of Antwerp

I am 1.83 m tall, I weigh 80 kilos, I have big hands, I have thick lips, I have brown eyes, I have big ears, I have a big nose,…
As you can see,
physically everything is in tip top condition!

Iraqi theater maker Hussein Al-Khalidi has lived in Belgium since 2015. He gives a monologue about his place in society and his future in Western Europe.

Hussein is also curious about who is in the room with him and is happy to enter into a dialogue with you. How did you get here? What are you looking for?

Hussein takes off his mask and shows himself as a person and as a player.

Result

• 2 Performances: Rataplan and Wintervuur

Credits

• artistic: game: Hussein Mahdi, coach: Luk Nys, text: Hussein Mahdi and Luk Nys
• organizational: WIPCOOP and Arenberg Schouwburg. 
• Photo: Karolina Maruszak