Veerle van Overloop / Selfish Productions + Noord Nederlands Toneel + Grand Theatre
In ‘What Lies Beneath’, theatre maker Veerle van Overloop takes issue with and exposes the destructive force of the limited and simplistic news reporting of our media today. With its topical theatre script melded together with unpolished dance, a striking soundscape, live graffiti and video art, ‘What Lies Beneath’ manages to really get under your skin. It is a confrontational documentary performance about major wars and atrocities that don’t make the news, the netherworld between fact and fiction, and the power of our leaders and economy.
‘What Lies Beneath’ is a collaboration between a number of young and very talented performers, including Australian dancer Olympia Kotopoulos, versatile Glaswegian artist Robbie Thomson, graffiti artist Jelle Valk from the Groningen WERC collective, and actress Nadège Ouedraogo from Burkina Faso. British author and former BBC correspondent Lara Pawson wrote the script especially for this theatre project.
For ‘What Lies Beneath’, Veerle sought inspiration in the work of British documentary maker Adam Curtis and publications by renowned journalists, such as Robert Fisk and John Pilger. Theatre is tasked with the same responsibility as investigative journalism: revealing the hidden stories that otherwise would escape our attention.
English and French spoken / English surtitles
Credits
director: Veerle van Overloop | performers: Olympia Kotopoulos and Nadège Ouedraogo | graffiti / video artist: Jelle Valk | voice: Glen Kotopoulos | sound design: Robbie Thomson | animation: Joachim Rümke | text: Lara Pawson | translation: Les frères LeMoal | dramaturgy text: Judith Blankenberg | journalistic dramaturgy: Joost Ramaer | camera and photography: Lex Vesseur | lighting design: Satu Leskinen | technician: Hans Hof | sound: Niels van Dam | with big thanks to: Helga Richter, Douwe Ket and Le Hoai Ling | creative producer: Milan van der Zwaan | publicity and marketing: Annedore van Zalen | general management: Frits Selie | artistic advisor: Richard Gregory | graphic design: Studio Rubio | supported by: Station Noord (thanks to We the North and Fonds Podiumkunsten), Stichting Beringer Hazewinkel and Kunstraad Groningen
‘What Lies Beneath’ is supported throug the talent development program Station Noord by Noord Nederlands Toneel, Club Guy & Roni, Grand Theatre, Tryater, Oerol and Noorderzon Performing Arts Festival Groningen.
