The Nearest Beach

2023

A day at a beach. A wooden bench at the bus stop. Several beach visitors return home after a warm day. While waiting for the next bus, they meet and tell each other stories about their day at the beach.

For two months, Ukrainian students meet on Wednesday evenings in a rehearsal space in Louvain. Supported by a team of Belgian and Ukrainian theatre makers, they create scenes and images, aware of a past, set in the present with a glance at the future. On stage, they seek each other’s strength as well as lightness and fun. They all aim to accomplish a mission, as each student has one essential question. While playing, they search for multicolored answers.

By & with Dariia Blyznyuk, Karyna Bredun, Tetyana Dytyna, Anton Hebdovskyi, Svitlana Karmazyn, Anhelina Kovach, Anastasiia Kovalenko, Mariana Myrosh, Marharyta Shamshurina I direction Nele Vereecken I research and dramaturgy Sofie de Smet I direction-assistance Yulia Ostrohliad I stage play & direction Lina Ghys I external advice Roza Sarkizian I  technician Bert Vermeulen

in collaboration with PraxisP Practice Center of the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences (KU Leuven)

Photos © Herman Sorgeloos

Image Flyer © Wies Hermans (fuut)