XXXO @ Pleasance Courtyard

Ontroerend Goed’s very own Nathalie Marie Verbeke and Charlotte De Bruyne present XXXO. Despite the challenge of being both directors and actors, the girls put together XXXO by examining the emotions that caused tears, and, as they explained: “some were easier to find than others. But in the end we managed to put all these different emotions in the show.”

Meanwhile, the theatrical style remains very close to their influence and supporter Ontroerend Goed (OG); its purpose is to give people an awareness of human nature, which OG managed in their very controversial piece, Audience, last year as well as in this year’s All That Is Wrong. To them, theatre is a here and now experience, which cannot be reduced by digital media. XXXO itself uses laptops, a projector and screen. As Natalie and Charlotte declared: “Digital media immediately became a part of our show, because it’s such a big part of the world we live in today. They’re part of our generation. So we weren’t even conscious of using them, it just happened.”

And indeed, it makes sense for modern theatre groups to embrace new means and techniques of theatre production that will not subtract from the ‘here and now’. According to the girls, theatre is still a potent medium: “The here and now becomes even stronger because we put it next to the footage on screen. In the end, we get ourselves to cry every night again, live in front of an audience. Theatre hasn’t lost any of its power.”

As for those of you who think buying a ticket to see this means embarking on a dark, depressing journey, you are mistaken: “Sadness is definitely part of the performance, but we created a structure that gave space to all the emotions we encountered in the rehearsal room. Even humour is an important part of that.”