Give Up, Old Ghosts!

13 May '26

Toneelhuis / Benjamin Abel Meirhaeghe

In Give Up, Old Ghosts!, Meirhaeghe guides us through the backstage of memory. Our ability to collectively remember and pass on knowledge forms the arc of the performance. Give Up, Old Ghosts! is a meeting between performers of different generations and artistic backgrounds. At the center is Mozart’s unfinished Requiem, performed live by two pianists who were once teacher and student.

How is something remembered, learned, and passed on?

Run time 100 minutes
Genre theatre
Language English
Surtitles Dutch

Give Up, Old Ghosts!

Quoting from her dance repertoire, Fumiyo Ikeda gives form to what a body remembers. Inspired by the queer resistance writings of Ursula Le Guin, the performers explore how to pave the way toward a future free of violence and oppression — but full of magic. Scenographer Jozef Wouters, inspired by a haunted house, transforms the stage into an echo chamber where sounds and images from past and present intermingle.

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The performance is a memory palace with the atmosphere of a spiritual séance. What would it be like to speak with the stars? When does the past start to haunt us? Must we let go of the old ghosts so the future can finally begin?

Credits

concept and direction Benjamin Abel Meirhaeghe
with Fumiyo Ikeda, Maya Dhondt, Katrijn Friant, Simon Van Schuylenbergh, Darryl Woods (tbc), and others
set design Jozef Wouters / Decoratelier

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lighting design Nicolaas de Rooij, Ruben de Snoo
choreography Fumiyo Ikeda
dramaturgy Leonie Ute Maria Adam