Miet Warlop – Ghost Writer and the Broken Hand Break

Rushing towards the inevitable, unable to stop. Or does ‘no brakes’ give a sense of freedom? In the mesmerising performance Ghost Writer and the Broken Hand Break the Flemish theatre maker Miet Warlop [1978] throws herself into a Western version of the dervish dance. Its origins lie in Sufism, a mystical tradition within Islam. A priest [the dervish] twirls around endlessly until he becomes ecstatic. Ghost Writer and the Broken Hand Break sees Miet and two fellow performers engage in the mental and physical experiment.

Twirling, they attempt to outrun memories and stories and surrender to a pure, dizzying now. Straddling the line between control and loss of it, their circular dance mixes in swirls of recital and live concert. At Boulevard 2018 Warlop exploded a giant teddy bear in her hallucinogenic Big Bears Cry Too. Now the internationally applauded Flemish maker is charging our desires with Semtex to escape the present moment. Miet is also creating work for a Block Box in the festival square.

Credits
Concept: Miet Warlop
Music and performance: Pieter De Meester, Wietse Tanghe, Joppe Tanghe, Miet Warlop
Text: Raimundas Malašauskas, Miet Warlop, Pieter De Meester
Coproduction: Kunstencentrum Vooruit Gent, HAU Hebbel am Ufer Berlin

Why do we put this in front of you?
Why do bands always stand on a stage? This performance breaks the boundary between disciplines in the most exciting way. By bringing fantastic songs in an almost religious way, in a swirling dance. This rock ritual is already one of the highlights of our festival.
Miet Warlop is a visual artist and choreographer who releases albums … We think Welcome to The Village is the best place to present this dance concert, but that is what the Venice Biennale thought.
Jonathan Offereins, programmer