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Heleen
Works

2025

Symphony for one hundred citizens and a traffic light

with Thomas Verstraeten

Composition

Antwerp-based the­atre-mak­er, actor and visu­al artist Thomas Verstraeten is part of the­atre col­lec­tive FC Bergman, but already cre­at­ed extra­or­di­nary hap­pen­ings in DE SINGEL with his solo work. After his much-dis­cussed Seefhoek Series, in which he blurred the bound­aries between the city and the the­atre, he is now cre­at­ing a new met­ro­pol­i­tan project with com­pos­er Heleen Van Haegenborgh. This time he does not focus on a sin­gle neigh­bour­hood, but on the entire city.

Symphony for one hun­dred cit­i­zens and a traf­fic light con­sists of a large-scale sym­pho­ny of every­day urban sounds and a video instal­la­tion. One hun­dred city dwellers from all cor­ners of Antwerp each play their own instru­ment’. No vio­lins, wood­winds and per­cus­sion on stage, but cars with a growl­ing engine, a sun­ny ter­race with clink­ing glass­es, bark­ing dogs, a wheeled suit­case glid­ing over the cob­ble­stones, a singing street gui­tarist, a road­work­er with a jack­ham­mer, a clock strik­ing 12 o’clock, whistling birds … All the instru­ments togeth­er on the stage of the Blue Hall form a sculp­tur­al col­lage of the city. 



Credits

  • Concept and direction
    Thomas Verstraeten
  • Composition
    Heleen Van Haegenborgh
  • Performance
    habitants of the city of Antwerpstudents of the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerpstudents of the Conservatoire of Ghentstudents of the Conservatoire of Brusselsmusical
  • Conduction
    Tom De Cock
  • Dramaturgy
    Katherina Lindeken, Seckou Ouologuem

Related Agenda

20
12
2025 20:00

Symphony for one cit­i­zens and traf­fic light + Thomas Verstraeten

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21
12
2025 15:00

Symphony for one hun­dred cit­i­zens and traf­fic light + Thomas Verstraeten

Toneelhuis/De Singel

Blauwe Zaal, De Singel