After the success of Billy's Violence, the desire to continue this intense tale was so strong amongst the artistic team, cast and crew that it has led to a sequel: Billy’s Joy. Once again, Victor Lauwers turns his hand to reworking Shakespeare’s plays and see what they can still mean in our time - a time of great controversies, vulgar polemics, cancel culture, structural racism, climate change, war. What is there left to laugh at? Is humour the coward's weapon or a form of activism?

For Billy's Violence, Victor Afung Lauwers researched the ten tragedies of Shakespeare and rewrote them into violently loving, intimate dialogues in which the woman is the central focus, stripped of any historical reference or anecdotal content.

Songs of Disconnection is a next step in Seghers’ research into the potentially tragic relationship between entertainer and spectator. This resides in the irresistible urge to share and connect and the essential impossibility of doing so.

Haunted by the night and inspired both by her ancestors and the Javanese theatre of shadows wayang, Grace Ellen Barkey, who was born in Surabaya, Indonesia, enters into a dialogue with the obscure and searches for forms of re-imagination in her installative performance MALAM / NIGHT.

News
1 February 2025
DOUBLE BILL(y) comes to Belgium!

Care to waltz through Shakespeare’s tragedies and comedies in a single evening? Needcompany has the pleasure to announce the Double Billy (Billy’s Violence & Billy’s Joy) at 30cc, Leuven. Following two sold-out editions at Impulstanz 2023 (Vienna) and Festival Grec 2024 (Barcelona), this once in a lifetime diptych is being performed in Belgium for the first time.

After Leuven, this double bill goes to Toplocentrala, Sofia!

26/02/2025 (30cc, Louvain) – [Buy your tickets here ici]
05/03/2025 & 07/03/2025 (Toplocentrala, Sofia) – [Buy your tickets here ici]

3 February 2025
Double Minutes#14

Double Minutes is a nomadic project that reimagines the format of an artist talk. In each edition, two artists are invited to share the peculiarities and inspirations that shape their practices. At the same time, they are encouraged to experiment with the scenographic, performative, and collaborative possibilities of such kind of presentation. The result is a series of live events that foster artistic discourse and the dynamic interaction between diverse practices.

For the 14th edition of Double Minutes artists Marlie Mul and Anina Müller are invited.

03/02/2025 at MILL
Doors : 20h00 | start: 20h30
Entrance : 2 - 5 - 10 euros (cash)

28 January 2025
United screens for Palestine: 5 Broken Cameras (Nekkersdal X Needcompany)

On Tuesday 4 February 2025, Needcompany will welcome Nekkersdal to MILL for the first time. A collaboration prompted by renovation works at Nekkersdal. For this first collaboration, the Needcompany studio will be transformed into a cinema, in which the impressive documentary ‘5 Broken Cameras’ will be screened as part of United Screens for Palestine and Refusing to disappear.

13 January 2025
In Vitro #21 - Zhu Wenbo, Sun Yizhou and Zhao Cong

After a successful first collaboration in September, we are looking forward to the next edition of In Vitro on 25 January at MILL.

Zhu Wenbo, Sun Yizhou and Zhao Cong are known for their innovative use of everyday objects—such as household appliances, mechanical devices, toys, and office stationery—which are amplified through various microphones and often accompanied by feedback loops. Their performances are filled with contradictions, balancing between irregularity and homogeneity, inviting the audience to explore the space and create their own interpretation.

They are known for their innovative use of everyday objects—such as household appliances, mechanical devices, toys, and office stationery—which are amplified through various microphones and often accompanied by feedback loops. Their performances are filled with contradictions, balancing between irregularity and homogeneity, inviting the audience to explore the space and create their own interpretation.

Tour

March 2025
19 MarAMOPERA co-productionHong Kong Art Festival (Hong Kong HK)
21 MarA Sublime Mistake Teatro Central (Sevilla ES)
22 MarA Sublime Mistake Teatro Central (Sevilla ES)
22 MarAMOPERA co-productionDaegu Opera House (Daegu KR)
23 MarAMOPERA co-productionDaegu Opera House (Daegu KR)
April 2025
08 AprA Sublime Mistake FIND 2025 (Berlin DE)
09 AprA Sublime Mistake FIND 2025 (Berlin DE)
25 AprA Sublime Mistake Teatro Principal (Zamora ES)
May 2025
08 MayA Sublime Mistake La Abadia (Madrid ES)
09 MayA Sublime Mistake La Abadia (Madrid ES)
Tour

March 2025
19 MarAMOPERA co-production
 Hong Kong HK  Hong Kong Art Festival
21 MarA Sublime Mistake
 Sevilla ES  Teatro Central
22 MarA Sublime Mistake
 Sevilla ES  Teatro Central
22 MarAMOPERA co-production
 Daegu KR  Daegu Opera House
23 MarAMOPERA co-production
 Daegu KR  Daegu Opera House
April 2025
08 AprA Sublime Mistake
 Berlin DE  FIND 2025
09 AprA Sublime Mistake
 Berlin DE  FIND 2025
25 AprA Sublime Mistake
 Zamora ES  Teatro Principal
May 2025
08 MayA Sublime Mistake
 Madrid ES  La Abadia
09 MayA Sublime Mistake
 Madrid ES  La Abadia
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