The award-winning theatre company Ontroerend Goed from Belgium always presents new, exciting and challenging work and this year is no exception. Funeral is a moving, almost transcendental experience that’s filled with ritual, humility and humanity.
It starts as we are greeted in the small foyer of Zoo Southside, where we are invited to participate in learning a song that will be used at the end of the performance and perhaps give the names of those who have passed who would like to be remembered.
“Once upon a time, between birth and death, they were people and we are those people, we remember, we forget,” we are told.
We are invited into the theatre space and stand in a square around a black gauze that engulfs us as we greet each new arrival as if attending a funeral. It’s a strange, somewhat awkward moment but sets the solemnity of the mood perfectly.
Wooden logs are passed from one person to another and provide our seats. Voices echo from the corners of the room. Memories, reflections. Candles are lit, “the world is a collection of events” is the mantra.
As the lights come up on the central area, it reveals a plinth. An actor places a cardboard box filled with memorabilia, perhaps the transient lifetime possessions of the deceased. All steeped in meaning and memory.
What follows is a remarkable, life-affirming celebration of community and shared understanding of grief and the power that the end of life can truly bring.
The cast are both sensitive to the subject content and to the needs of individuals in the audience. Superbly directed by Alexander Devriendt, this remarkable production touches the heart and soul of the audience.
Finally, we all sing the song that has much more meaning now and are invited to join everyone for a cup of tea.
Fight for a ticket.