For his graduation performance in 2023, Jannes Coessens explored ‘crashing’ as a philosophical concept. The result was a musical rave performance as an ode to the lost moment: A four-second performance lasting half an hour. For the original performance, Jos Agasi provided the music, and Jacob De Groot did the coaching. The performance was inspired by Peter Verhelst’s novel The Art of Crashing.

For O. 2024, Coessens continues this quest. Starting from a fascination with the idea of truth, and how it is a more capricious and less comprehensible concept than we think, a theatrical universe is created in which time stretches, radically shortens and ultimately folds back on itself entirely: A musical quest for truth within a vacuum of time.

The new generation in the spotlights
Saturday 25 May, new musical theater makers reveal their work to an audience at the Kaap. At Theater Walhalla and Conny Janssen Danst, among others, a diverse group of makers will gather for a day full of creativity, talent and energy. Some have only just graduated, others are about to leave school, and a few have left school longer ago. One thing they have in common is a bold take on musical theatre. From a rebellious, feminist reinterpretation of a classic play to a relentless crash test of traditional musical, the variety is wide. All of these creators are ready to shatter the status quo and redefine the world of music theatre.

“Jannes combines philosophy with literature and musical theatre and shares his musings in beautifully written texts.” – Anne van de Wetering, festival dramaturge O.