In a world where politicians never apologize and women are expected to always apologize, sorry is a word with a rulebook. You have to learn to use it. “Sorry ok…” has a very different meaning than “shit, sorry.” Are you saying sorry to steer clear of a conversation? Or do you say sorry because you want to make the other person feel better? Why do some people never say sorry? And do others always say it?

Fieke and Floor especially recognize themselves in the latter group. They are about to graduate from the music theater program at ArtEZ, so by now they had expected to be “adults.” When you’re an adult, you stand up for yourself, right? Unfortunately, they still face a daily surplus of excuses. They constantly let people walk all over them. They set themselves up as doormats. So are they too empathetic? Or simply weak? Moreover, aren’t their apologies gradually losing their value? Do they really mean it? Perhaps they are precisely not empathetic because they misuse the word, use it as a weapon.

Presentation students Music Theatre ArtEZ
Saying sorry is really my thing is a short music theatre duet performance. The performance was created especially for O. by Fieke Westland and Floor van der Niet, students of the Music Theatre programme at ArtEZ.