Wasted Land

01 Feb '26 to 02 Feb '26

Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne / Ntando Cele (ZA/CH)

In the incisive Wasted Land, Ntando Cele challenges Western notions of sustainability and ecology. The catastrophic consequences of fast fashion are critically examined, as Cele confronts the audience with their own complicity. A story of inequality and hypocrisy, wrapped in a cloak of dark humor.

Festival Brandhaarden

Location ITA

Duration 65 minutes

Genre Theatre

Language English

Subtitles English and Dutch

The Bookshop Aftertalk

Wasted Land

Cele succeeds, with Wasted Land, in diving deep into the waste heap of fast fashion and taking the audience on a journey of self-reflection. The performance is highly skeptical about the possibility of fundamental change or restructuring of society, given the deeply rooted power structures that uphold the status quo of the hyper-capitalist fashion industry.

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Wasted Land is a melodic landscape between theatrical performance, video projection, and poetic concert. A post-apocalyptic satire inspired by decolonial protest songs, reinterpreted by Cele in collaboration with Egyptian musician and composer Wael Sami Elkholy and three vocalists.

Can we imagine a world in which societies stand in solidarity against the injustice and oppression of all people, non-people, and the Earth?

Ntando Cele

Ntando Cele was born in Durban, South Africa, and currently lives and works in Bern, Switzerland. She studied theatre in Durban and later pursued a multidisciplinary education at DasArts in Amsterdam. In 2013, she co-founded the production company Manaka Empowerment Prod. with Raphael Urweider.

Her work crosses the boundaries of theatre, video installations, concerts, and performance. Using humor and deliberately politically incorrect statements, she exposes hidden racism in everyday life. She combines music, text, and video to playfully dissect prejudices and stereotypes, confronting the audience with their own biases.

In February 2020, during the festival it’s not that simple in Bern, Cele invited other artists to a satirical debate titled Ennemi du progrès (Enemy of Progress), in which she addressed issues of racial freedom and the limitations faced by artists of color. Her performances have been presented at venues including Vidy (Switzerland), with Black Off (2019), Go Go Othello (2020), and SPAfrica (2023). SPAfrica, the award-winning production she created with Julian Hetzel, was a SPRING co-production and had its Dutch premiere at SPRING 2023.

2 February at 21:15 - The Bookshop

Aftertalk

After Wasted Land, the creators will engage in a conversation with the audience. This aftertalk centers on the shared experience: how did you perceive Wasted Land? Has it influenced your view on fast fashion and climate inequality?

There will be space to ask questions, share thoughts, and reflect together on the imagery, music, and critical layers of the performance.

Please note: this conversation will be held in English.

Brandhaarden

Brandhaarden is an international theatre festival that brings productions by remarkable theatre makers from abroad to Amsterdam. The festival offers a unique focus on one artist, company, writer, region, or theme. This year, we shine the spotlight on Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne, a house at the intersection of individual experience and collective concerns. It creates a space where today’s global themes resonate, are shared, and questioned. In a world that is increasingly polarized, Théâtre Vidy manages to touch a nerve and sharpen the audience’s critical gaze.

In previous editions, we highlighted directors such as Katie Mitchell, Milo Rau, and the collective Rimini Protokoll; writer Édouard Louis; the Southern European region (Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Greece); and city theatres like Münchner Kammerspiele, Volksbühne Berlin, and Peter Brook’s Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord.