ECHO
(Every Cold-Hearted Oxygen)

Nassim Soleimanpour
Alternating between Yoann Blanc [fr], Sara Selma Dolorès [fr], Myriem Akheddiou [fr], Adri De Biasi [fr], Maaike Neuville [nl], Marah Haj [en], Soa Ratsifandrihana [en], Dena Divah [nl]

A radical new take on artistic expression and a five-star cast for this show, which has already been a hit from Melbourne to London, and from Stockholm to Madrid.

The concept can be summed up in a few words: at every performance, an actor or actress takes to the stage without having read the script, without prior rehearsal and without knowing what to expect. The performer discovers the show at the same time as the audience.

On stage: a table, a laptop, two large screens and the talent of the performer who, courageously, agrees to be guided by Nassim Soleimanpour and his artistic team using a video link and earpiece. Long prevented from leaving Iran before settling in Berlin, the Iranian playwright has developed a style of writing designed to travel without him. ECHO thus establishes an unpredictable yet intimate connection between the author, the performer and the audience.

In Brussels, iconic artists from our cultural sector have accepted to take up the challenge. Among them, Yohan Blanc, familiar to audiences from his stage and TV work (La Trêve); Sarah Selma Dolores, a unique figure in contemporary performance; Myriam Akeddiou, unforgettable in the film On vous croit; and Adrien de Biasi, alias Drag Couenne, a key figure on the drag scene with a large social media following. On the Dutch-speaking side, we will get to see Maaike Neuville, a director and actress acclaimed in many series, among others De Twaalf (The Twelve) on Netflix and Red Light on Arte, and the Iranian-born stand-up comedian Dena Divah, a rising star on the Belgian comedy scene. Two English-speaking artists will also be part of the line-up: Marah Aj, a Palestinian dancer and choreographer trained in Antwerp and a prize-winner at Het Theaterfestival 2023; and Soa Ratsifandrihana, a Franco-Malagasy choreographer who has collaborated with Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker and Boris Charmatz and who received acclaim for her piece gr oo ve at the Théâtre National.