Rooftop Stadspodium
Location Grotekerkplein
Extra info This is a free program; reservations are not required; the performance is wheelchair accessible
Sea levels are rising. The water is now up to our lips. Four people are trying to survive on the rooftop of a flooded house… They are completely surrounded by water and they fight close together to stay upright, but with every move, they could slip.
In Hellend Vlak (‘Sloping Surface’), you end up in the middle of the dancers’ difficult choice: will you help each other or just save your own skin? Between recognisability and absurdity, you as an audience will become involved in this dire situation. What behaviours help the group persevere? When do you get to lean on another person and is a weakened person allowed to benefit from another person’s efforts? When are the boundaries of solidarity crossed here? We see a shaky, collective balance. Can everyone stay till the end?
Hellend Vlak is a show about man’s ability to deny the consequences of their lifestyle. In a masterful way, they seem to keep this up for a very long time, even while the consequences keep coming at them.
Theaterkrant wrote of the performance: ‘It is not only rather absurd and wry what we get to see, but above all it is very tense. Every step can be a misstep, every wrong move can lead to wet clothes. This gives Hellend Vlak a tension you rarely experience. An absolute edge-of-your-seat piece, comparable to the antics of an acrobat without a safety net.’