Een quickie in The Bookshop met performances van Harun Balci en Merel Severs - gespeeld door Jimmi Heijgelaar

In this solo performance, Harun Balci constantly shifts between different characters and perspectives. Content and form merge in his performance: he moves fluidly between languages, roles, and identities, making code-switching not only a thematic element but also physically and rhythmically tangible.

The emotional landscape of the performance is carried by music from Guido Hoek, whose compositions and soundscapes make the inner tension, vulnerability, and sense of alienation audible and more intense. Music and performance flow seamlessly into one another.

The performance explores themes such as identity, (self-)love, biculturality, sexuality, and the need for safety within family and relationships. Within this tension, an intimate search for one’s own identity emerges, balancing between adaptation and the courage to remain true to oneself.

In Living in Silence for Too Long, Jimmi Heijgelaar takes over the solo originally created by Merel Severs in 2021. For WorldPride, Severs reworks the performance for a new performer and, with that, for a new perspective. He carries her words, memories, and anger, while also adding his own desire: for freedom, masculinity, and a body that fully belongs to him.

Where Merel rebels, Jimmi longs. Where she draws boundaries, he wants to break through them. Their experiences intersect, yet also sharply diverge. Within this tension, they explore how ideas of masculinity and femininity shape the body, relationships, and the way we perceive ourselves.

The performance moves between text, physicality, and confrontation. With humour, vulnerability, and directness, Living in Silence for Too Long questions deeply rooted stereotypes, social expectations, and the space available to shape yourself beyond imposed roles.