About the event
It’s going to get worse and worse and worse, my friend | Show Introduction
A compelling exploration of the power of speech and gesture to manipulate both orator and audience from Belgian dance company Voetvolk
Presented as part of our 2023 Freespace Dance series showcasing the work of contemporary women choreographers, Voetvolk’s It’s going to get worse and worse and worse, my friend looks at the persuasive power of oration, and the ability of words and gestures to stir and manipulate emotional and visceral response.
Alone under a spotlight, and dressed in the androgenous uniform of authority, Belgian choreographer Lisbeth Gruwez casts a powerful spell over the audience as she performs to a soundtrack mixed live by partner Maarten Van Cauwenberghe and punctuated with fragments of a speech by ultra-conservative American televangelist Jimmy Swaggart. At first cool and measured, Gruwez’s controlled and ritualised gestures – a precise vocabulary of movements gleaned from studies of speeches by politicians and dictators – become more and more impassioned, gaining momentum as the energy of the speech intensifies and rising to a state of ecstatic trance.
Compelling and alarming, It’s going to get worse and worse and worse, my friend explores how charismatic orators can induce calm and stir anxiety, how words and gestures can be used to comfort and dominate, and how speeches can take on a force of their own, exerting preternatural power over the emotions of both speaker and audience.
Note: A pre-show participatory physical introduction session introducing related choreographic concepts and movements is available on 26 April (7:00pm–7:30pm). This session is open to ticket holders only. Registration details to be announced.
Show Details
- It’s going to get worse and worse and worse, my friend
- Date: 25-26 Apr 2023
- Time: 20:00
- Venue: The Box, Freespace, West Kowloon Cultural District
- Address: 18 Museum Road, West Kowloon, Hong Kong
Ticket Details
- Tickets available from 1 March 2023 (Wednesday) at 10:00am on online ticketing system Cityline and via telephone booking hotline at (852) 2111 5333 (10:00am to 7:00pm daily).
- Price: HKD 280
Artistic Team:
Concept, Choreography and Performance: Lisbeth Gruwez
Composition and Sound Design: Maarten Van Cauwenberghe
Styling: Veronique Branquinho
Dramaturgy: Bart Meuleman
Light Design: Harry Cole and Caroline Mathieu
Presented by:
Freespace
Source of above information: West Kowloon Cultural District official website