Theatre of War

Commemorating World War I in Belgium Karel Vanhaesebrouck

From 1914 until 1918 Flanders, the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, was devastated by World War I. In commemoration of the war’s centenary, the Flemish government spared no trouble or expense to present a complete, immersive experience, which included walking and cycling tours, refurbished museums, newly cleaned town centers, and interactive events. Meanwhile, the number of historical publications on the topic keeps growing. In 2015, VRT, the Dutch-speaking public broadcasting system, produced In Vlaamse Velden (In Flanders’ Fields), a prestigious

Karel Vanhaesebrouck is Professor of theatre and performance studies at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), where he coordinates the research group THEA | Theatricality and the Real. He also lectures in theatre history and cultural history at the Brussels-based Theatre and Film school RITCS. His scholarly work has been published in journals such as Poetics Today, Theatre Topics, Image & Narrative, Contemporary Theatre, Critique, Etudes Théâtrales, Tijdschrift voor Geschiedenis, Théâtre/Public, Cahiers naturalists, and Crisis & Critique. He occasionally works as a dramaturg, mostly but not exclusively for Theater Antigone. [email protected]

Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00691 by guest on 02 October 2021 WWI Commemorations 41 - in

by Hotel Modern. Modern. Hotel by War Great The and we are not yet halfway and we are not yet halfway — some critical commentators are talking about some critical commentators — Figure 2. The actors animate a miniature landscape of the Western Front, which which Front, Western the of landscape miniature a animate actors The 2. Figure cameras. small of means by live screened is Helle) Herman and Broek den van Joost by (Photo 2001. Schouwburg, Rotterdam - - Directed by Thomas Bellinck, produced by KVS and Steigeisen. KVS, Brussels, KVS, Steigeisen. 2015. and KVS by produced Bellinck, Thomas by Directed (2014), for (2014), Front

Specific historical occasions were commemorated with large-scale events. On 17 October On 17 October with large-scale events. commemorated occasions were Specific historical Theatre companies and per Theatre companies and (Battlefront (Battlefront participatory Lichtfront organized the grand Flanders of 2014 the Province West Lichtfront evoked cultural commemoration program. of the GoneWest the start of Light), strug- when the bloody Yser, the during the Battle of in October 1914, the frontline as it was on the orders of King Yser plain had been inundated after the gle had somewhat abated chain of torches and fire baskets The Lichtfront consisted of a human Albert I of Belgium. for whoever visited Flanders WWI names all with iconic communities, running through 10 Ieper, Langemark-Poelkapelle, Houthulst, Lo-Reninge, Diksmuide, Fields: Nieuwpoort, now Even Komen-Waasten. Mesen, Heuvelland, Zonnebeke, TV series that enabled viewers to wallow in the mud of the trenches and the squalor of war. the squalor of war. of the trenches and to wallow in the mud that enabled viewers TV series (The Great Oorlog work De Groote of the seminal author Sophie De Schaepdrijver, Historian (Schaepdrijver Little Belgium Brave series, nonfiction a four-part was asked to write 1997), War; VRT. for the 2014), and De Geest through the centenary as I write this article through the centenary “poppy indigestion.” formance artists also swooped A huge down on the war years. from small- number of shows, scale local productions to inter directly national coproductions, or indirectly commemorated the In Great War. example, the Flemish director example, Luk Perceval evoked the harsh life of soldiers and villagers on The both sides of the frontline. Dutch theatre company Hotel Modern presented a painstak- ingly beautiful evocation of the violence and pain in and around the trenches in De Groote Oorlog 2001) using a War; (The Great miniature live film set that the actors re-created during the an almost cine- performance, matographic image of the war Van den Bosch staged a performance artist Pieter Flemish 2). landscape (Bleeker 2010) (fig. humorous per giving a carefully arranged explosions, show that mainly consisted of a series of Figure 1. (facing page) Stef Stessels’s set design evokes the gloomy architecture of cold war communism but also also but communism war cold of architecture gloomy the evokes design set Stessels’s Stef page) (facing 1. Figure Verstraete Mark and Hessels, Joris Sileghem, ciruculara of Karlijn hall. hotel atmosphere nightmarish the , 2015), Cie Barbarie 2015), , Thomas Bellinck (Memento Park Artists as diverse as spective on warfare. Pieter De 2016), Lanoye ( Gaz, Tom 2015), , Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui (Shell Shock 2015), (Risk, 2015) commemorated the (Gavrillo Princip, Winkel Warme and De 2015), , Buysser (Immerwahr that com- 14–18, The commercial company Studio 100 produced a spectacular musical, war. took events” “commemoration many At the same time, mented on the commemoration itself. Taken as place all over the globe invoking the diverse memories of specific groups and nations. an integral part of a booming branch of tourism focusing these events are a single phenomenon, . Park Memento (Photo by Stef Stessel) Stef by (Photo Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00691 by guest on 02 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00691 by guest on 02October 2021

42 Karel Vanhaesebrouck focus ontheanalysisofendresult, whereasforOepsIwillconsidertheproductionprocess. together intoascore. Iwasthedramaturgandauthor-editor ofOeps.Memento Park For Iwill both productions, documentarysourcesareexplicitlyusedand, viasamplingandediting, welded and thathistoriographyaswelljournalisticnewscoverageareinneedofaradicalrevision. In tion, arguesthat WWI neverended, thatthesameimperialistinterestsarestillinplay2016, radical present-daypointofviewthat, in Theater Antigone’s thoroughlyresearchedproduc- and thusremainblindtothecontradictionsinherentincommemorationculture. Oeps provincial entrepreneurshipofthesmallfrywhotrytogetapiececommemorationpie Memento Park isanexplicitcommentontheheritagecraze. Bellinck’sdirectionfocusesonthe Aboriginal Australians, Maoris, NativeNorth Americans, andCongolese? WWI systematicallyomitnon-Europeanexperiencesonthe Western Front? What happenedto hood, race, ethnicity, andreligionontheother. Why dotheEuropeanmemorialresponsesto cultural memory(inFlanders)ontheonehandandnotionsofcitizenship, belonging, nation- cality ofcommemorationeventsoutside cultural eventsthey(re)enact. Ialsohopetoshowhowtheirworkrelatesthespecifictheatri- rounding WWI cultureandthedifferentwaysinwhichtheatre-makersdeconstructvery Raven RuellandJos Verbist productions —Memento Park (2015)directedby Thomas BellinckandOeps(2016)directedby Flemings mainlyoccupiedthelowerranksinBelgianarmy. A closereadingoftwotheatre was alsoasocialdivide, Frenchoftenbeingthelanguageofhigh-rankingofficerswhile had acrucialimpactonthewayinhabitantshavecommemoratedFirst World War, asit Southern, French-speakingpartofBelgium. The linguisticdividebetweenNorthandSouth ing gohandinhand, inawaywhichisverydifferentfrommemorialculture Walloonia, the complex siteofremembrancewhereculturalmemory, heritagetourism, andcommercialbrand- Dutch-speaking partofBelgium(andmorespecificallythewesternoutskirtthisregion)isa to theiconicPetShopBoyssong. GoneWest remindsspectatorsthatFlanders, theNorthern, cations called “GoneWest,” referringbothtotheactualregionof Western Frontaswell communities andsharedhistories(Schneider2011). on culturaltrauma. The makersoftheseeventsemploytheatricalstrategiestostageimagined commercialization. Memento Park showshowanunequivocalinterpretationofahistoricalreality fallsvictimto ing point. That disorderiscentralinMementoPark andOeps, albeitintotallydifferentways. ties. Ratherthanbringordertoevents, thehistorianaccepts thedisorderofhistoryasastart- variety thehistorianshouldreveal ance, thefactthatpastisfundamentallyunknowable. Onthecontrary, itispreciselythis past isinvariablymultiperspectival. The historian, therefore, shouldnotglossoverthatvari- past: wheneveralightisshedonthepast, thepastchanges (White1973). Ourrelationtothe depends ontheperiodfromwhichpastisconsidered. So wecanneverdefinitivelygraspthe is thereforenotanunchangeableentity:whatindividualor agroupthinksaboutthepast make senseofourpast, togiveeventsandobjectsfromthepast aplaceinthepresent. The past van hetverleden (Theusefulnessofthepast;2006:7). Reynebeaushowshow we needhistoryto “The pastisneverwhatitis, itiswhatwemakeofit,” beginsMarcReynebeauinhisHetnut Cultural MemoryasaBattlefield forgets things. Within theframeworkofaculturalhistoryforgetting isasimportantremem- example ErllandNünning2008; Rigney2012). A memorystoressomeinformation, butalso beating, notinthefacts, butinimaginingthosefacts. Eachculturehasitsown memory(seefor tive; astoryalwaystoldfromthe pointofviewthevictors. Each ofthesememorialperformancesapproachesculturalmemoryinadifferentway. The province of WestThe provinceof Flandersdecidedtosetupafull-scaleprogramofeventsandpubli- History andculturemeetinmemory. Indeed, thatiswheretheheartofcultural historyis Oeps critically addressesthefactthat ourrelationtothepastishighlyselec- — illuminates the “performed imaginaries” (Schechner2015)sur — not thehistoricalreality, buttherangeofhistoricalreali - of thetheatre. Together theseprojectsinterfacebetween offers a - WWI Commemorations 43 (they However, the more intercultural However, 1 figurative or real sites that express and reflect figurative or real sites — a sign of some kind. Therefore, lieux de mémoire Therefore, a sign of some kind. — WWI does not have any referential value as a constitut- WWI does not have who are born here but who have different cultural back- who are born here but —

2 —

Remembering World War II is different, not only because it is more recent but also because many Flemish collab- Flemish many because also but recent more is it because only not different, is II War World Remembering 1991). Dhondt and with (Huyse dealt fully not past a repressed, been has this Germans; the orated with Belgian- two from born were who Belgium of inhabitants to refer to word informal colloquial, a is Belgo-Belgian parents. born WWI could be best described as a “lieu de mémoire,” literally a place of memory. The term The term a place of memory. literally “lieu de mémoire,” described as a WWI could be best the memory of It goes without saying that for Flemish nationalists WWI is ideologically Alstein aptly describes WWI Maarten Van as within the Flemish emancipa- a “mythomoteur 1. 2. ing memory. that are fundamen- “events” or “sites” who uses it to signify Nora’s, is French historian Pierre one or more identities tal reference points for (Nora 1984–1993). and that constitute the identity of individuals the identity of a culture, rang- material or immaterial, take on an indefinite number of forms, A lieu de mémoire can be a monu- It can locatable sites to abstract ideas. ing from concrete objects or geographically a Uylenspiegel”), a personage (“Tijl a person (“The greatest Belgian”), ment (the IJzertoren), a a symbol (a poppy), a site (“The Caves of Han”), museum (the In Flanders Fields museum), a lieu de mémoire An object becomes [The Lion of Flanders]). Vlaanderen story (De Leeuw van by a specific group and is saved from oblivion when when it is something considered significant a museum that group puts up a memorial, they function as trampolines enabling a group to belong in a collective historiography where more- Lieux de mémoire are, a collective identity. imagine a collective past and to perform the Flemings talk For example, at stake in symbolic struggles. often far from unequivocal, over, use the term Walloons while the French-speaking (Flemish coast), “Vlaamse kust” about the , a find their identity expressed in the Suske Many Flemish & Wiske (Belgian coast). “côte belge” Belgians Walloon whereas “typically Flemish,” to be popular Flemish comic series considered (see the world-famous news reporter created by the cartoonist Hergé identify with Kuifje, and Vanhaesebrouck, Klinkenberg 2013; Baetens, 2008 and 2009; et al. Tollebeek for example Van Maele 2014). divide between the Flemish lower classes and the French- WWI is a symbol for the social laden. pupil in Every society until well into the 1950s. speaking bourgeoisie that split up Belgian who refused to give his orders in Dutch (the lan- Flanders is told the anecdote about a general “Et The soldiers had to cope with just one phrase: guage of the Flemings) as well as in French. This inade- (and for the Flemish soldiers the same thing). pour les flamands la même chose” The linguis- deaths of many young Flemings. quate communication caused the unnecessary a movement of tic injustice led to the foundation of the Frontbeweging (Front Movement), lan- Flemish intellectuals that originated at the Ijzer plain and explicitly resisted the French Theatre) It was no coincidence that the Fronttoneel (Front guage policy of the Belgian army. Staging performances in Dutch was an act of cultural was founded within the Frontbeweging. resistance and self-awareness (Peeters 1989). a central axis of the Flemish culture of remembrance featuring (Alstein 2013:65), tion struggle”

- as signifi foundational (they are regarded to be passed on) and that they have are so important as an instrument memory functions Thus cultural that identity). for a specific cant cornerstones The memory of - is considered funda WWI a shared identity. group to assume enables a social of them experienced that war even if not one of the Flemish people, mental by a large number who could offer direct evidence. or even has grandparents bering. Memory is the capacity to make the past present again, even in the face of questions in the face of questions even again, to make the past present is the capacity Memory bering. These the imagination. or were just part of actually happened or not these events about whether be fundamental by a group to memory that is considered get a place in the recollections Flemish society becomes, the more problematic it is to reach a consensus on recollections of the more problematic it is to reach Flemish society becomes, Flemish people For a lot of WWI. “Belgo-Belgians” grounds from the Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00691 by guest on 02 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00691 by guest on 02October 2021

44 Karel Vanhaesebrouck tity formation interwoven. Thus thelarge-scalecommemorationwithitsdoubleobjective claim WWI asitsparadigmaticmemory. To thisverydayhistoryandidentitypoliticsareclosely people foremost. Flanderslikestoimagineitselfasapeace-lovingsocietyand, atthesametime, repeated: WWI wasanabsurd, pointlesswar, inwhicheveryonewasavictim, buttheFlemish field forthewar-hungry Europeanpowers. Time andagainthesamediscursiveconstructionis of remembrance:poorlittleBelgium, butevenmoreso, gravelywoundedFlanders, thebattle- unique sellingpointoftheregion. “No morewar” functionsasthecentraltropeinculture as leveragefortouristdevelopmentandgreaterinternationalvisibility. WWI hasbecomethe a Flemish-nationalist, Minister-PresidentWWI GeertBourgeois, usetheremembranceof as anappealforpeace: “No morewar” isthemainslogan. Today Flemishauthorities, ledby ect ofFlemishindependence. WWI issystematicallyframed At thesametime, thememoryof the culturalemancipationstruggleofFlemishpeopleasasymbolnationalisticproj- “where Via reenactments, participantspursue theillusionthattheygetclosertohistoricalmoment, museums, anddocudramasfilms. Sheemphasizes historyasapersonalexperience: Schneider describesthespectacularizationofhistoryinreenactments, themeandheritageparks, enthusiasm foranythinghistoricalisnotanisolatedcase. InPerforming Remains(2011), Rebecca in overdrive:newmuseums, guidedtours, booming hotelbusiness, andsoon. This particular WWI isbigbusiness:since2014thetouristindustryhasbeen In FlandersFieldsthememoryof Reenacting thePast instrumentalization ofculturalmemory. orations ledtoadebateaboutthepublicroleofhistorians, thepoliticizingofhistory, andthe emphasize communityidentitybutratherlocalmemory. Inanycase, preparingthecommem- solidarity inacontextofpenuryandresistancetooppression” (Ypersele 2014). Wallonia didnot sized democraticvalues:respectforinternationallaw, humanrightsandthegoalsofliberty, and historians inthepreparationsofcommemorations: “The Walloon centenaryplansempha- Brussels (November2018). The Walloon government, ontheotherhand, explicitlyinvolved Liège andMons(tobeheldin August 2014), Ypres andNieuwpoort(October2014), and ties weresoirritatedthattheytookovertheplanningofthreeimportantmemorialceremonies: ernments forsigning, butnottotheBelgianor Walloon governments. The Belgianauthori- 2014). In2010theFlemishgovernmentsentFlandersFieldsDeclarationto50foreigngov- Flemish ‘state’ aspossibleviatheproactivepoliticsofcommemorativedeclarations” (Ypersele was avoided: “the aimwastodrawasmuchinternationalattentionthedistinctandseparate torians inthepaneltaskedwithpreparingcommemorations. Any referencetoBelgium broke loose. GeertBourgeois, atthattimetheFlemishministeroftourism, didnotincludehis- paper supplements, etc. In2009, fiveyearsbeforethestartofcommemorations, allhell variety ofmediaplatforms, withaproliferationoftelevisiondocumentaries, exhibitions, news- Van Ypersele wroteinanarticleforTheConversation (2014). Politicizationoccurredacrossa ular pressandincommentsbyhistorians. “The pastisbeingpoliticized,” historianLaurence cerns theircommemorationsoftheGreat War havebeenwidelydiscussedbothinthepop- talgia, alongingforsomething thatwillneverreturn. fingertips ofthepresent” (2). Theever-growing memoryindustryis alsofueledbyculturalnos- (Schneider 2011:25) eration. Historyisnotremembered, asitwas, [...]butexperiencedasitwillbecome. [...] Herethehistoricalinvestmentisnotasmuchaboutpresentation asitisaboutregen- itage industryisthatwithoutyou the explicitsuggestionhauntingmuchoflanguageeducation thatattendstheher The communitydifferencesbetweenFlandersand Wallonia aslieuxdemémoireandcon- then and — now punctuateeachother” cannot bedisconnectedfromthecollectiveimaginationofFlemishsociety. inastarringrole, historymightnothavetakenplace

— bringing “that time — that priormoment — tourism andiden- — to the - WWI Commemorations 45 -

3 -

(Long Live Hard Work). Recent research has shed new and often devastat- Recent research has shed new and often Work). Labeur (Long Live Hard Vive Anzac is the acronym for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. Corps. Army Zealand New and Australian for acronym the is Anzac At the same time it is striking that the postcolonial perspective has not affected the perspective has not affected the postcolonial time it is striking that At the same But there are significant exceptions to that one-sided perspective in which minorities who But there are significant exceptions to that 3. ing light on the fate of African soldiers in Africa (Galen Last 2012) and, more specifically for 2012) and, Africa (Galen Last African soldiers in of ing light on the fate Front (Brosens 2013) and along Western of Congolese soldiers both at the on the role Belgium, the Flemish-African Kuumba, On 11 November 2013 (Catherine 2013). African frontline the to honor the African soldier,” “unknown organized a commemoration of the House in Brussels, lost their lives on European ground to protect what sacrifice of the young Congolese men who the And during the summer of 2014 the city of Ostend, “homeland.” they were told was their exhibition Theater aan Zee festival organized a modest and Africa, Royal Museum for Central are non-European participants But in general, in Africa. African soldiers entitled Trenches on the in Front; they occupy only a marginal position Western not part of the memory culture at the the commemorations By forgetting non-Europeans, the current memory industry in Flanders. and geopoliti- migration, concerning cultural identity, evade some crucial present-day questions Africans, Asians, is ignored even when large numbers of Their participation cal power relations. At the which often ended tragically. Australians played a part, and New Zealanders, Canadians, the 100th anniversary of same moment that Europe commemorates WWI and emphasizes the with barbed wire and Frontex (the that same Europe fights, pacifistic project of the continent, migration of people who flee wars caused by the the transnational Agency), European Border memorializing of Thus the WWI involuntarily exposes inter in non-European countries. West remembrance industry. Colonial recollection apparently has its boundaries, unspoken, but unspoken, has its boundaries, recollection apparently Colonial industry. remembrance WWI (soldiers were mobilized during from all over the globe million nonwhites Four real. of But the remembrance and nonsoldiers). commemora - is formed during these WWI that African men groups to be included. the appeals from minority in spite of tions is Eurocentric devastating imperial by their colonizer’s in a conflict fueled to enlist as soldiers were forced were forced by their own gov- (the so-called Chinese Labor Corps) ambitions; Chinese men and clean the bury bodies, to dig trenches, a deal with the allied forces, which cut ernment, until 1996 was a complete inven- Not (Dendooven and Chielens 2008). postwar battlefields the museum In Flanders in 2010, Only WWI graves in Flanders released. tory of the Chinese separate exhibition (Xingqing with a attention to the Chinese laborers, Field paid elaborate officially commemorated (and thus Flanders in the summer of 2017, 2010); and just recently, Front with an exhibition enti- Western Chinese presence on the acknowledged) the elaborate tled esting parallels with today’s geopolitical situation: many are refused access to the European esting parallels with today’s geopolitical situation: they fought even though just as their antecedents have no place in cultural memory, continent, on the very same ground. Anzac Day excluded from national memorial culture. fought in Europe have been persistently (25 April), for example, is a national holiday in Australia and New Zealand commemorat- is a national holiday in for example, April), (25 For years the participation of many Maoris WWI. ing the participation of both countries in In 2015 a large-scale event was orga- Front has been explicitly remembered. Western on the By lottery WWI lieu de mémoire for these countries. the central Turkey, nized in Gallipoli, and 500 representatives of all nations involved in 2,000 New Zealanders, Australians, 8,000 They spent the night the Gallipoli Campaign were invited for a grand memorial ceremony. Thus the remembrance of is WWI together on the beach and watched the sunrise together. becomes part of the postmodern experience it immediately not only an emotional experience, Front is in full swing: Western so-called indigenous tourism at the At the same time, . economy of their ances- descendants of non-European fighters go on pilgrimages to get closer to the past British families would do in the hope of coming to a better under for example, just as, tors, standing of what happened to their grandfathers in Flanders.

Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00691 by guest on 02 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00691 by guest on 02October 2021

46 Karel Vanhaesebrouck

Figure 3. Mark Verstraete leaves the stage through one of the many doors in Thomas Bellinck, produced by KVS and Steigeisen, (Photo 2015. KVS, Brussels. by Stef Stessel) even thecommunistpastiscommodifiedbyspectaclesociety. MementoPark isanexplicit Bellinck theparkisperfectmetaphorforhowpastdealtwithinpostpoliticalera: tourist attraction, isagraveyardofhistorywherenostalgiaandspectaclegohandinhand. For nist erathatwereassembledafterthefallofcommunistregime. MementoPark, apopular Hungary. The parkfeaturesvariousstatues(Lenin, Marx, Engels, BélaKun Thomas BellincknamedhisplayMementoPark afteraparkinErdontheedgeofBudapest, History asan Amusement Park cal bloodlinesofhistoriography, interpretinghistoryideologicallyandthereforepolitically. mentary theatre, thetheatre-makersofferametahistoricalperspectivelayingbareideologi- but toquestionpowerandtruth, toshowhowtruthisfabricated. Ratherthanapositivistdocu- their nostalgiabehind. Inbothcasestheartistsusedocumentarymaterialnottogetattruth, performances pointtotheincompletenessofmemorymachineforcingspectatorsleave historical event World War I(trenches, soldiers’letters, familiesleftbehind, andsoon), both formances areexplicitlylinkedtothepresent, albeitinadifferentway:insteadofevokingthe business andthatneoimperialismisatthecoreoftoday’sgeopoliticalconflicts. Thusbothper the firstplace, aneconomicclasswarthatwasmeanttosafeguardthesupremacyof Western big war historiographykeepsobscuringtheveryessenceofconflict, namelythat WWIwas, in of arealtime-travelindustry. Oeps WWI andshowshowthepasthasbecomeobject commercialization oftheremembrance memorial cultureinFlanders, albeitintotallydifferentways. MementoPark clearlycriticizesthe 4. by Stalin. He was posthumously rehabilitated in 1956. Republic’s collapse, Kun fled to the USSR where he worked for the Communist Party. In 1938he was executed Béla Kun, born in 1886, was the leader Hungarianof the short-lived Soviet Republic of 1919. Upon the Both of the performances I focus on in this essay explicitly relate to the blind spots of WWI Both oftheperformancesIfocusoninthisessayexplicitlyrelatetoblindspots deepens thedebateideologicallybyreferringtofactthat Memento Park. 4 ) fromthecommu-

Directed by - WWI Commemorations 47 Directed Directed

a — Figure 4. A brainstorming session by local politicians and entrepreneurs on WWI WWI on entrepreneurs and politicians local by session brainstorming A 4. Figure Marjan Sileghem, Karlijn Hessels, Joris Verstraete, Mark left) (From marketing. . Park Memento in Ven der Van Keyaert, Jeroen and Robin Schutter, De Brussels. KVS, 2015. Steigeisen, and KVS by produced Bellinck, Thomas by Stessel) Stef by (Photo 5 are from the unpublished manuscript provided by Thomas Bellinck (2015), and and (2015), Bellinck Thomas by provided manuscript unpublished the from are Park Memento 6

All excerpts from from excerpts All own. my are translations van...euh...John gedicht het achterkant de op Met [...] chocolaatje. Field Flanders Een ook. dan we hebben Wat omdat Dus Helmets. Tommy onze zijn dat en genomen patent een hebben We [...] Fields. Flanders’ In MacCrae boek een je als En gered. levens vele ook heeft dat Tommy...altijd...en een met staan zien altijd soldaat een we Wij uitgekozen. goed heel ook werd doosje het op foto De erop. helm de met altijd soldaat die je openslaat, zie jaar. per daarvan dozen duizenden verkopen What do we have? A Flanders What do we have? At the [...] Field chocolate. back there is the poem by... uh...John MacCrae “In We [...] Flanders’ Fields.” took out a patent and those Helmets. Tommy are our That is because we always Tommy... see a soldier with a always...and that has also And if you saved many lives. open a book you will always see the soldier with his hel- The photo on the met on. box was very well chosen. sell thousands of boxes We per year. Bellinck and his set designer Stef Stessel take the spectators to a bizarre, uncanny spot a bizarre, Stef Stessel take the spectators to Bellinck and his set designer 5. 6.

The spectators see everything: try Westhoek how people in the to capitalize on the commemorations by selling poppies and the misplaced ambi- chocolates, a meeting of provincial staff members marketing, the ludicrous tourist tions of local politicians, a consultation with the marketing team for a musical 4), with good intentions but bad ideas (fig. dilapidated hall, maybe part of a communist party headquarters or an old cinema, with a big or an old cinema, part of a communist party headquarters maybe dilapidated hall, a genu- “door comedy,” is a Memento Park In fact, 1 and 3). (figs. rotunda with many doors Figures now only gathers dust. that must have been important once but ine farce set in a place vague what exactly their roles are but it remains seem to belong to the place, they come and go, is simple: the spectator sees a reen- The starting point of Bellinck’s script and what this hall is. He War”). the Great Years (“100 “100 jaar Groote Oorlog” for actment of the preparations directly lifted from a human-interest reportage draws on various documentary (media) sources on Flemish television: using the anniversary of using the anniversary of memory the commercialization criticism of culture a start WWI as - of heritage “eventalization” the Bellinck scalps of humor and alienation, a sense With ing point. the experience the costumed excursions, and cycling routes, 2015): the beer culture (Delbecke At the top of and so on. the literary outings, the pop-up actions, the on-site concerts, museums, - a fuller immersive experi grandstand for 14–18 (with a moving spectacle-musical the bill is the of of these commemorations All little village where Every local industries. WWI create ence). While local globalized tourism. tries to become a player in the market of once a shot rang out Memento Park such initiatives as a form of historical entrepreneurship, politicians encourage it exposes the blind spots of the the way we deal with history has become: shows how grotesque remembrance industry. Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00691 by guest on 02 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00691 by guest on 02October 2021

48 Karel Vanhaesebrouck ists talkaboutallthe WWI clichés: (a referencetothepreviouslymentionedStudio100musical), andapressconferencewhereart- 10. rations willbreathenewlifeintotheFlemishmovement. A memberofparliamentsays: recuperation ofthewarbyFlemishnationalistsisdealtwith;theyhopethatcommemo- bags forthetrenches, thegunlicensesforreenactmentsoldiersetc. Also thepolitical about theirownspecific, banalworriesconcerningtheirlocal WWIevent:thesupplyofsand- between themajorityandopposition. Membersofparliamentasktheministerquestions With barelyconcealeddelight, Bellincktakesustoparliamentforaclumsypseudo-debate Studio 100’s WWI musical: Then Bellinckarrivesattheultimatespectacularizationofwar, makingexplicit referenceto WWI musicaldeliveringthefollowingplatitudeatapressconference: Subsequently Bellinckmercilesslycrucifiesthissortofmediaeventbyhavingasinger important subject. The productionshowshowliterallyeverythingismarketed, includingthe 9. 8. 7. greetings. Then theyreturnedtotheirown...uh...linescrazilyenough. Allied andtheGermantrenches. Those soldierslefttheirtrenchestoexchange Yuletide truce. The momentonChristmasEvewheninfact...uh...carolsweresungboththe Uh...I justthinkaboutthisverybeautiful, emotionalanecdote...uh...oftheChristmas War”...uh...is...was startedbyFlandersandalsoremainsaFlemishevent, doesitnot? a Flemish...thattourismisFlemishmatterandthatthisproject “100 Years theGreat It isapparentlyhardtostomachforsomethattheproject “100 Years theGreat War” is an effectasinamovie, zoominginonaparticularscene. lic canmakearideofabout150to200metersbackandforth, whichinfact...uh...yields long.300 meters And weuseabout 200 metersforacting. That meansthatthe...thepub- that willmove. The performancetakesplaceinamultipurposebuilding, ahallthatis means thatthepeople, thepublicitselfwillmove. They aresittingona...onagrandstand The greatdifferencewithatraditionaltheatricalperformancehereismovement. It what...what...what...what...what makestheatreso...so...fascinating. (Bellinck2015:8–9) uh...the musicisplayedbypeopleoffleshandblood. Andthatisalsopreciselywhat... constantly featuremusic. [...]Inamusicalyou...youhavethefactthatdayinout... The musicinamusicalisall-important. Uh...especiallyinourmusical, whichwillalmost Vlaanderen en ook een Vlaamse...een Vlaams evenement blijft, nietwaar? bevoegd...dat Toerisme een Vlaamse bevoegdheid is en dat dit project euh...wordt...werd in gang gezet door [B]lijkbaar kan men het nog altijd niet verkroppen daar dat het project “100 jaar Groote Oorlog” een Vlaamse euh...een effect kunnen bereiken zoals in een speelfilm, het inzoomen naar een bepaalde scène. het...het publiek een tocht kan maken van een 150 à 200 meter naar voor en naar achter, waardoor we eigenlijk nementenhal, ongeveereen zaal die 300 meter lang is. En een 200 meter. wij bespelen daarvan Dat wil zeggen dat het publiek, zal bewegen. Ze zitten op een...op een tribune die gaat rijden. De voorstelling gaat door in een eve- Het grootste hier is beweging. Dat verschil wil zeggen met een traditionele theatervoorstelling dat de mensen zelf, door mensen van vlees en bloed. En dat is juist ook het...het...het...het...het...het boeiende van...van theater. muziek zal zijn. [...] Bij musical heb...heb je het gegeven dat elke dag opnieuw...euh...de wordt muziek vertolkt Het belang van muziek in een musical is ontzettend groot. Euh... en vooral bij onze musical, waar bijna constant dan waanzinnig genoeg weer te keren, elk naar hun eigen...euh...linie. vanuit die loopgraven. Dat die soldaten uit die loopgraven gekomen zijn om elkaar een goeie kerst te wensen om eigenlijk...euh...zowel aan de geallieerde kant als langs de kant van de Duitsers, plots kerstliederen weerklonken Euh...ik denk aan die heel mooie, emotionele anekdote...euh...van het kerstreces. Het moment op kerstavond dat Memento Park isanexhaustiveformofmetatheatre, thespectacleitselfbeingmost 9 7 10 8 WWI Commemorations 49 - - 11 12

Bellinck shows that the motives for commemoration are not only com- Bellinck shows that the motives for commemoration Memento Park

Dat zijn toch de oorlogsexperts bij uitstek. Dat niemand die vraagt: “Hoe is dat dan eigenlijk echt, zo’n oorlog?” oorlog?” zo’n echt, eigenlijk dan dat is “Hoe vraagt: die oorlogsexpertsniemand de toch zijn Dat uitstek. bij Dat is dat “en mensenrechten hun voor betogen te staan die Want gewoon barrière. een achter we zetten die Neen, wat zeggen: ge kunt dan En houden. voor stilte minuut een eens zo daar moeten we Misschien vervelend.” heel een stilte voor minuut een en Wereldoorlog Eerste de over...euh...rond stilte minuut die tussen verschil het dan is is er Maar ver-van-uw-bedshow. even een toch is Dat zijt? betrokken bij persoonlijk niet ook ge thematiek waar hebben. in verantwoordelijkheid persoonlijke een wel daar wij dat is dat en gigantisch verschil één sam- en plakken knippen, het bij Maar loer. de op vaak ontmaskering de ligt maakt, theater documentair je Als fas- Mij vraagstuk. nieuw een of publiek, het aan voorleggen puzzel nieuwe een liever ik wil realiteit een van plen meer mij gaat Hij zoeken. te voor vorm andere een er probeer ik maar werkelijkheid, cineertde van naspelen het zegt. het wie dan zeggen, ze wat om In a final unpleasant scene Bellinck portrays two arms industry lobbyists who laconically scene Bellinck portrays two arms industry In a final unpleasant He steals statements from reality and edits them Bellinck makes theatre by quoting reality. is often “unmasking” the all too easy result of simply If you make documentary theatre, sampling a reality I prefer to present a new pasting and But by cutting, lying in wait. but I try to I am fascinated by imitating reality, or a new problem. puzzle to the public, Der Van (in more important than who says it. What they say is give it another form. Speeten 2015) In sonal responsibility in the second matter. sonal responsibility in THEATRE-MAKER: They really are the war experts, aren’t they? But nobody asks aren’t they? But really are the war experts, They THEATRE-MAKER: Because they behind a fence. we just put them No, a war?” like, “What is it really them: Maybe “and that is really uncomfortable.” their human rights are demonstrating for What is the difference say: Then you can of silence for that. we should have a minute and a min- War World of silence about...uh...concerning the First between that minute either? Both shows do not you are not personally involved in ute of silence for something that is that we do have a per is however one gigantic difference and There concern you. state that all technological progress stems from the arms industry. As they put it, arms are the As they put it, progress stems from the arms industry. state that all technological how the Belgian company One of the lobbyists proudly describes best guarantee for peace. and not American and Israeli army, by selling to the Barco developed part of the corporation only by selling LED screens for festivals. if direct But the result is not an exact reproduction of reality even into a parade of absurdities. provides audiences with a new reality made from His editing quotation is his artistic strategy. is something the public would otherwise never see This new reality pieces of primary material. Bellinck says: In an interview with the newspaper De Standaard linked. 11. 12. Via painstaking and intelligent editing, Bellinck shows that reality is not just absurd and inex- Bellinck shows that reality editing, painstaking and intelligent Via in the routine it also has underlying structures and relations that escape our perception plicable, The fragments in themselves are absurd and bur yet still determine the real reality. of daily life, By but together they offer an uncomfortable reality that is rarely if ever acknowledged. lesque, In Memento Park Bellinck forces his spectators to listen to what his sources say. simply quoting, speeches, parliamentary tourist brochures, press conferences, he quotes from television series, but rather assembling the content “documentary theatre,” Bellinck is not making However, etc. to relay what is truly going on. Politicians, mercial but also ideological; and that the past is dealt with in a selective way. most painful episode in Belgian history. Even death becomes a spectacle. Bellinck does not hes- Bellinck does becomes a spectacle. Even death history. episode in Belgian most painful of at the grave During a commemoration memory is. how partial that specular itate to show dis- how the ceremony is relates maker” “the theatre called Soldier a personage the Unknown not recognized as because they are who demonstrate Afghan refugees a group of turbed by war refugees: Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00691 by guest on 02 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00691 by guest on 02October 2021

50 Karel Vanhaesebrouck corporations, lobbyists, andotherstakeholders ture, was awantedwar. Itwasnotawarfordemocracy, butagainst democracy, withoil asits urgently demandingparticipation. suited theupperclassverywell: itweakenedtheotherclassesevenastheyweremoreand Empire. This economic basisfor WWI isneverremembered. The war, accordingtoPauwels, of democracyandtheracefor oil intheMiddleEast cause ofthewarwasacomplexgeopoliticaltanglefedbytwo motives:theEuropeanelite’sfear that WWI wasanimperialistclasswarthatsocializedtheburdens andprivatizedthegains. The (2016) bythehistorianJacquesPauwelsplayedacrucialrole in thatprocess. Pauwelsasserts tions, butshowedthehistoricalrealitythatisnot Gotfried Benn. ContrarytoMementoPark, Krauss’s ing thevainandfoolishGeneralMelchett). As dramaturg, IbroughtinBrecht’sFatzer, Karl fourth seasonofBenEltonandRichardCurtis’sBBCseriesBlackadder withStephenFryplay - dimension ofthewar:ludicrousfoolishnessgenerals (strikinglyportrayedinthe Stanley Kubrick’sDr. Strangelove (1964), wewantedtheproductiontohighlightubu-esque ing todowith, nothaveaplaceinBelgianmemoryculture? At thesametime, alsoinspiredby never grantedamnesty? Why dothemanyCongolesewhodiedin WWI, awartheyhadnoth- “little people.” We asked: Why didmostpacifistsenterhistoryasdesertersandwhywerethey no reasonatall. With Oeps strous war?Hencethetitle:Oeps, asin:Oops, starting questionfortheproductionwasdeceptivelysimple:Howcouldithappen, thismon- ular setdesignerGiovanni Vanhoenacker tookcareofthesets, andIwasthedramaturg. The the actorshadbeeninvolvedinfirstschoolproject. PeterMonsaertdidthevisuals, thereg- Oeps Verbist gatherednineprofessionalactors, amongwhomthreehadonlyjustgraduated;all haesebrouck, Guillain, andCartuyvels2015), isthefinalstepontheirinvestigativepath. For umentary productionabouttheinsandoutsofBelgiancriminaljusticesystem(see Van the USA. and anewfocus:thesecondGulf War inIraq, anditsgeopoliticallinkswiththe2001attackon Al Timimi showedtheresultsofcontinuingresearch, butthistimeonlywithRITCSstudents dents’ exercisebasedonhistoricalmaterial. A yearlater, inJune2016, Jos Verbist andHaider Conservatory ofLiège(ESACT). InJune2015, RavenRuellandJos Verbist presentedastu- RITCS Schoolof Arts, aDutch-speakingtheatreschoolinBrussels, andtheFrench-speaking was precededbyalongresearchprocessincollaborationwithstudentsoftwotheatreschools: ducing companyfromKortrijk, evenreceivedextramoneyfromGoneWest. The production Oeps wasoriginallyintendedtobeaperformanceabout WWI. Theater Antigone, thepro- Rewriting History terrarium isameagerlittletreethathasknownbetterdays. The presentisalreadymuseumified. But oneofthemencarriesabanjo. Irony?Signifyingwhat? The onlyotherthinginthishuman are twomeninblack, balaclavasincluded:resistancefighters, ninjas, terrorists, orISISfighters. Ninth Symphony, alife-sizemuseumshowcaseisbroughtontothestage. Insidetheshowcase the Europeanideaofunity. in Easternblocstylewhichheexposedwithalotofhumorandalsosharpironythefailure en Ekzilio(HouseofEuropeanHistoryinExile;2013), ameticulouslyelaborateddustymuseum industry emergedinBellinck’searlierwork, themostsuccessfulexamplebeingDomodeEuropa nomic interests. This intertwiningofideology, tourism, militarycapitalism, andthememory memory andidentity. Thus thecommemorationindustryaround WWI remainsblindtoeco- Part ofourteamattendedalecture byPauwelsinBruges. WWI, hestatedduring thelec- Oeps, directedby Verbist andRuell, whohadalreadyproducedTribuna(a)l (2013),- adoc Memento Park endswithanenigmaticimage:tothestrainsofexcerptfromBeethoven’s Humanity’s LastDays, we wantedtogiveaforum “le petitpeuple,” theusuallyvoiceless Henri Barbusse’swardiaryLeFeu, andtextsbyErnst Toller and Oeps didnotexplicitlydealwiththecommemora- sorry! Or:Oops, sorrywesentyouofftowarfor — celebrated. big andsmall — thus theparcelingoutofOttoman The Great Class War 1914–1918 — use historyinordertofix WWI Commemorations 51 - - In his 13 a fictitious personage, a fictitious personage, — Our Wound Is Not So Recent: Thinking the Paris Killings of of Killings Paris the Thinking Recent: So Not Is Wound Our (Our evil comes novembre les tueries du 13 mal vient de plus loin: Penser Notre (2012) about the manipulations of the Carlyle Investment Group Exposed (2012) about the manipulations of the Carlyle Carlyle tells the truth, albeit improperly (“You want the fucking news, well I’ll give you the want the fucking news, albeit improperly (“You tells the truth,

—

Also published in English in 2016 under the title the under 2016 in English in published Also 13 November. We changed course and opted for an outspoken present-day perspective that questioned the opted for an outspoken present-day perspective changed course and We 13. net (removed by YouTube) titled “We Will Put an End to Sykes Picot” (ISIS n.d.). It becomes It becomes (ISIS n.d.). to Sykes Picot” Put an End Will “We titled YouTube) by net (removed Indeed: than to the past. WWI is more relevant to the present about clear that a production Arab youths who no longer by and Brussels (2016) were committed the attacks in Paris (2015) West. drawn by the believe in the borders (War zonder grenzen Oorlog book, activist Ludo De Brabander’s new Peace memory industry. shows how the colonial maps of De Brabander became a key reference. without borders; 2016), the foundation for today’s geo- the beginning of the 20th century laid the end of the 19th and material that directly illuminated what We watched documentaries and online political conflicts. Harold Pinter’s Nobel interviews with Iraq veteran Kenneth O’Keefe; we were developing: Panorama documentary Robbery documentaries by John Pilger; the BBC Prize speech; various chaos into profit; the and particularly multinationals turn (2008) about how nations By Daylight documentary by hiring former politicians; speeches by politi- and the way Carlyle influences global decisions opinion-maker Owen Benn and Robin Cook; interviews with the Guardian Tony cians such as stations about oil and gas interests in Syria; broadcasting Jones; talk shows on non-Western “Why a critical portrait of Dick Cheney (subtitle: Errol Morris’s The Unknown Known (2013), read We etc. This Man Smiling?”); reports on the arms industry and Sofex arms exhibitions, Is YouTube On (2009). World the Men Fix Yes The David Hare’s Stuff Happens (2004) and watched who as a journalist Jonathan Pie, we found films by an English actor, of course also (re)read Naomi Klein’s Shock We reminding us of the importance of anger. fucking news!”), (Utilisables en cas de guerre de propagande Ann Morelli’s Principes élémentaires Doctrine (2008) and a study of the press ou tiède) (Basic principles of war propaganda; 2001), chaude froide, de guerre American (Project for the New about the PNAC also gathered materials We and propaganda. Wolfowitz) and Paul Donald Rumsfeld, the conservative think tank (with Cheney, Century), While by the United States. “full-spectrum-dominance” that developed a strategy aimed at conflicts in a triple-focus dramaturgical through-line developed: (1) the present-day reading, African continent are not unintended consequences of humanitar the Middle East and on the powers them- Western but are exclusively economically motivated; (2) the ian interventions, media reports (3) the the subsequent terrorism; and, selves are at the root of those conflicts and geopolitical conflicts are utterly selective and reit- concerning the underlying reasons for these point in the preliminary dramaturgical research A crucial reference erates the same fiction. was Alain Badiou’s of 13 November [2015 in Paris]; 2016). Thinking of the killings from something more: most important driving force. The war enabled the elite to slow down the democratization pro- the democratization elite to slow down The war enabled the driving force. most important Antwerp in Sometime later said Pauwels. big step backwards,” “The back the clock: to turn cess, about Sir Mark Sykes Fisk and we learned war journalist Robert to a lecture by the we listened 1916 facilitated the diplomats who in English and French the Georges-Picot, and François video on the inter later we found an ISIS A little 2011). the Middle East (Barr division of short text Badiou counters the dominant rhetoric that was common immediately after the Paris short text Badiou counters the dominant rhetoric that was common immediately after On the con- namely that one must not try to understand the violence of these attacks. attacks, He does not paint a happy pic- to try and understand. it is now necessary Badiou states, trary, imperialism Western mechanism through which Badiou roughly sketches the infernal ture. (lawless jungles “zonages” creates West how the induces whole continents into a state of war, to violent with only one rule: the survival of the fittest) and how the structural inequality leads the actors read Badiou’s text once more together with We acts of revenge like those by ISIS. and decided that his text concisely captures the dramaturgy of the production. Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00691 by guest on 02 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00691 by guest on 02October 2021

52 Karel Vanhaesebrouck Jos Verbist. Theater 2016. (PhotoAntigone, Kortrijk, by Kurt Van der Elst) Op De Beeck, and Kirsten Van den Hoorn in (Kirsten Van den Hoorn). (From left) David Gorges Dermez, Ocloo, Benjamin a series of geopolitical intrigues during a Skype call with his Indian friend Yani Figure 6. Benjamin Op De Beeck as an over-excited activist frantically denounces Antigone, 2016. (Photo Kortrijk, by Kurt Van der Elst) unidentified place. violence of the world. Gorges Ocloo (left) is the silent caretaker of this strange Figure 5. Sophie Warnant (right) in a monologue fueled by anger against the performance. The actors didnotplayroles. They wereentitieswhotookthe floortodefenda an outburstofaconscience-stricken journalist(Tim Natens). gentlemen dreamedofanewPearl Harboroneyearbefore9/11(seealsoCauter2004:142–51); De Beeck, fig. 6)who chanced uponthedocumentsofPNAC thinktank peace activist(ElenaDoriatto); aninterventionofagoadedamateur-researcher (Benjamin Op video becamethesymbolofhorrorwarinSyria(RandomDingen 2016);atiradeby musings ofOmran(Kirsten Van denHoorn), thefive-year-old boywhoviaaheartrending viral lic intoinvestmentsinSyria In ourrehearsalswelookedfor anadequatereasontobringallthismaterialtogetherina Oeps, directed by Raven Ruell and Jos Verbist. Theater Oeps, directed by Raven Ruell and — because therewerealotofinvestmentspossibleafterthewar; group whotriestolurethepub- a representativeoffinancial soldier (HannesReckelbus); timony fullofself-hatebya (Sophie Warnant, ates- fig. 5); based onKlein’sShock Doctrine the production:amonologue scenes thatformedthebasisof series ofprimarilymonologue to rewrite. We thusarrivedata through lastedfivehours)and cise deletions(thefirstfullrun- was testedinordertomakepre- ary presentations, thematerial to thematerial. Via intermedi- tioned howitcouldremaintrue The teamcontinuouslyques- core ofdocumentarytheatre. that thiseditorialworkisatthe torial team. Itbecameclear included, functionedasanedi- months theentireteam, actors the primarymaterials. Fortwo phase) wasallaboutprocessing phase (followingtheresearch too demonstrative. The second mative impact. The resultwas sion andthereforelittleperfor have enoughdramaticten- the verbatimapproachdidn’t At rehearsalswesoonfoundthat atre scorebasedondocuments. as abasisforfragmentarythe- The primarymaterialfunctions amount ofverbatimmaterial. of from documents. The finalscore uments, onliteralquotations not primarilyfocusingondoc- tary characterevenifwewere have adistinctlydocumen- clear thattheproductionwould Oeps containsonlyalimited From thebeginningitwas — he readshowthe - WWI Commemorations 53 that hints at a a at hints that Oeps Oeps Next there 15 to bring into the public space events that have the public space events to bring into — Figure 7. Giovanni Vanhoenacker designed a basic set for set basic a designed Vanhoenacker Giovanni 7. Figure lecture hall but also at a control room. A large projection screen takes center stage, stage, center takes screen projection large A room. control a at also but hall lecture Verbist. Jos and Ruell Raven by Directed Dermezbackground. the in David with Elst) der Van Kurt by Kortrijk, Antigone, (Photo 2016. Theater we not only had a didactic aim, but also an activist objec- but also an activist had a didactic aim, we not only - - “Just blink and you will see a totally different war.” 14 are from the collectively composed, unpublished manuscript (Ruell, Vanhaesebrouck, and and Vanhaesebrouck, (Ruell, manuscript unpublished composed, collectively the from are Oeps Oeps

Verbist 2016). All translations are my own. my are translations All 2016). Verbist zien.” oorlog “knippertandere hééél een zult ge en ogen uw met keer ne The spectators entered an The spectators entered was a transition to a dream sequence in which all voices participated and after which we were was a transition to a dream sequence in which no lon- Dermez’s tone was now lecture). back in the lecture (which is based on Pauwels’s Foaming and wildly gesticulating he ranted against the but indignant. ger mild and relaxed, when He used the Berlin conference of 1884 continuous exploitation through colonization. the economic Africa among themselves as a starting point and also as European powers divided was neces- WWI radical exposure of the myth that Dermez’s speech was a WWI. basis for At the very end the black actor Meanwhile spectators heard the echoes of today’s conflicts. sary. by the Moroccan-Dutch 8), using a newspaper article from Libération finally took the floor (fig. an alternative writer Faoud Laroui (2015) as the basis for this scene: the black man represented which has refused biased media coverage, perspective on the war by firmly criticizing its flawed, to provide viewers or readers with contextual information about the underlying geopolitical He explained nations or the sociocultural backgrounds of young migrants. interests of Western Western the the underlying mechanisms of the Brussels terror attacks (the cultural alienation, blindness the structural intervention in the Middle East disguised as protection of democracy, Excerpts 14. Excerpts from 15. not found a place in the history books or the media. The material was performed with a lot of performed with a lot The material was books or the media. a place in the history not found Oeps With commitment. anger and show to them explicit, 1971) by making truth regimes (Gramsci the dominant tive: to question the line of approach and Finding the correct reality is possible. version of the same that another the only a few days before decisions were made The final time. editing took a long right way of plan to center the drama- decided to abandon the original We 2016). premiere (29 September opted for the lecture We because that appeared to be too psychological. turgy on the journalist the central framework. of a historian to provide 7): an indefinable space (fig. screen empty stage with a big across the entire proscenium under (the actors could pass neath and also the spectators at the could see what happened a chair Each actor had back). with an attached desk-arm as in and a reading lamp. a classroom, a confer It could be a class, or a television stu- ence room, A black man (Gorges Ocloo) dio. walked around in the room: he kept an tidied up, vacuumed, and seemed eye on everything, like a to belong to the place, Spectators entered caretaker. joining a lecture in medias res, by a historian (David Dermez) in which he referred to a scene from Stanley Kubrick’s Paths of Glory (1957) to explain that he views war differently: point of view or to make public what is hidden or to make public point of view Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00691 by guest on 02 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00691 by guest on 02October 2021

54 Karel Vanhaesebrouck Van der Elst) Jos Verbist. Theater 2016. (PhotoAntigone, Kortrijk, by Kurt and ParisBrussels terrorist attacks. Directed by Raven Ruell and public in a furious monologue about the real reasons behind the Figure 8. In of the final part appeal foranother, newformofcolonialhistoriography: of themedia), andendedwithFranzFanon’sThe Wretched oftheEarth ([1968]2004)andan 16. sons involved(exceptforthemurderedinmateLili Tofler) aregivenaway. Theplayinsistson scripts into11 Cantos, eachfurtherdividedinto3parts. Nonamesofthecampsnorper that werepublishedinGermannewspapers(Martin2013:89–90) anddividedthetrialtran- al’s testimony. Weiss himselfattendedpartsofthetrialand madeuseoftheverbatimexcerpts extermination ofJews. Weiss’s playmainlyconsistsofextracts(in somecasesedited)ofthetri- the Frankfurt Auschwitz trial(1963–1965)ofwarcriminalswho participatedinthesystematic tary playofthetwentiethcentury” (Martin2013:89). Inthisproduction, Weiss reconstructs Peter Weiss’s the absenceofanyintermediary. A crucialinstance ofdocumentarytheatreis, undoubtedly, umentary credibilityfromthatfact, theessenceofdocumentary theatreistheopposite, namely sound recordingapparatus. While ethnographyspeaksthrough anarratorandderivesitsdoc- gence ofethnographyintoafull-fledgedscientificdisciplineandthestreamliningsight ing popularityofdocumentaryart, especiallyinliterature, wenthandinwiththeemer really happened, directtestimony, andthusatraceofrealityitself. Inthe1950sincreas- atre,” againsttheideaoftheatricalillusion. This sortoftheatrepresenteditselfliterallyaswhat is evident. Documentarytheatreoriginatedasasortofreactionagainstso-called “realistic the- ger showninpublicisfeatured. Oeps sake: whatisthealternative? as in1916, thatwereforgottenalltoosoon. Itisanenormouschallenge, butforheaven’s onized, thosewhowere “trodden upon” andhumiliated, thosewhoweremadepromises, to linkupallthestories. Also thestoriesofso-calledlosers, thosewhohadbeencol- That iswhyIthinkwemustrewritethehistoryof20thcenturyandhavecourage werden. Een enorme uitdaging maar wat is in godsnaam het alternatief? zij die “vertrappeld” en vernederd werden, zij die men beloften heeft gedaan, zoals in 1916, die te snel vergeten gen om alle verhalen in elkaar te schuiven. Ook die van de zogenaamde verliezers, zij die gekoloniseerd werden, Daarom denk ik dat we de geschiedenis van de twintigste eeuw moeten herschrijven en de moed moeten opbren- Oeps, (TheInvestigationDie Ermittlung ; 1965), “arguably themostimportantdocumen-

Gorges Ocloo addresses the 16 literally wantstobeBrechtian the preeminentplacewherewhatisnolon- ularization ofthereal;2012:324). Theatre is “la spectacularizationduréel” (thespectac- Delcuvellerie describesinacrucialtextas theatre isacounterweighttowhatJacques ventions, e.g., intheMiddleEast. In2016, lack ofknowledgeisusedtolegitimizeinter that wedonotknowaboutthem;our ing thattheseeventstookplace, butalso torical narrative. Indeed, itisnotonlyshock- facts thatarenotpartofthehegemonichis- cific historicalevent, butwantstoexpose Oeps about thecontentofthatsourcematerial. piece fortheindignationofmakers inary personagewhothenbecomesamouth- put intothemouthofanother, usuallyimag- Sometimes quotationsareliterally “ ally andaresometimesthoroughlyadapted. of theword. Sourcesareseldomquotedliter Oeps isnot “documentary” inthestrictsense does notintendtoreconstructaspe- — making unfamiliarwhat stolen,” - - - - WWI Commemorations 55 - (2006). (2006). shows that omit theatrical representation. It does precisely the omit theatrical representation. a person’s contact with the real is always mediated. mediated. a person’s contact with the real is always — shows that history and the media coverage of history are steered and determined by shows that history and the media coverage

one in which stories can be told, while the modes of tellers and even the stories them- while one in which stories can be told, Oeps — (2013), Carol Martin analyzes productions based on real facts (such of the Real (2013), Theatre (2012), and Hotel Modern’s Kamp (2012), Revolution Rabih Mroué’s The Pixelated (1977), (Notes on documentary theatre; 1967 [trans. 1971]) Weiss asserts that theatre has the abil- asserts that theatre Weiss 1971]) 1967 [trans. documentary theatre; (Notes on

Maybe one of the most persistent misunderstandings concerning documentary theatre is the Maybe one of the most persistent misunderstandings In the theatricality of (historical) reality actually functions as a means of exercising power and that the theatricality of (historical) reality actually functions as a means of exercising power is all but innocent. “game” the casting in that selves may be suspect, ambiguous, or multiple” (2007:187). Increasingly, theatre scholars analyze theatre Increasingly, (2007:187). or multiple” ambiguous, selves may be suspect, how the fiction named reality is made and understood, explored, reality is produced, “the” how André Lepecki explains in an unpublished interview with Synne As plausible or even acceptable. the mechanism of representation [...] put- “Contemporary dramaturgies interrogate Behrndt: Oeps and Behrndt 2007:188). Turner (in ting pressure on all its buttons and pulleys” The most effective theatre does not stage reality, but makes the spectator conscious of the reality, The most effective theatre does not stage This theatre shows character of (historical) reality. of the fundamentally theatrical mediation, The more unreliable the informa- how our daily reality is steered by theatrical mechanisms. the more complex the access modes of representation, the more complicated the tion sources, and Synne Behrndt write: Turner As Cathy the greater the need for a point of view. to reality, are increasingly seeing ways in which theatre is finding a new relationship with represen- “We tation belief that any “as if”belief that any see is a direct is lacking in this sort of theatre: that what the spectators makers For many years post–documentary theatre reconstruction of a reality that once was. by expos- “misunderstanding” have focused on that such as Rabih Mroué and Rimini Protokoll with reality and theatricality the core of their per making playing “truth,” ing the illusion of Documentary theatre does not formances. theatrical means to stage a concrete and specific reverse: documentary theatre explicitly uses time communicating to spectators a concrete relation new or different reality while at the same reconstructing showing reality always goes hand in hand with In other words, to that reality. (and others) show the fundamentally theatrical nature of Only in this way can artists that reality. reality. Group’s Rumstick The Performance Spalding Gray and Dolorosa (1998), as David Hare’s Via Road much documentary theatre are naïve and beside the Martin points out that the truth claims of has nothing to do with verac- “theatre of the real” as The essence of what she describes point. The objective of theatre of the is problematized. but rather with the ways this veracity ity, theatre doubt” “ontological what Martin describes as but to cause real is not to show reality, reality and fiction; just as in everyday real- by consciously obscuring the difference between this distinction is nontransparent ity, The Investigation proceeds “The Investigation to figures: reducing people violence of a system the bureaucratic food, space, cars, measurements of cattle including numbers about everything, by numbers: and in killing greater and the increased efficiency death records, barracks, cells, people, time, documen- théâtre In his Notes sur le 2013:91). (Martin given time” of people at a greater numbers taire man reveal this absurdity: the figures In The Investigation reality in all its absurdity. ity to reveal a larger number of his own technical expertise to efficiently exterminate is capable of using his all too quickly, “absurd” which is labeled reveal that this (historical) reality, Theatre can species. in its smallest details. coherent, made logical and historically clarified, can be explained and but to accurately as possible, represent the details of the Holocaust as goal was not to Weiss’s theatre has the In other words, its sheer absurdity. specific epic devices, by means of reveal, documentary theatre is in the Therefore we do not want or dare to see. power to reveal what “construc- but essentially a mere reproduction, of reality, account “objective” first place not an becomes following Brecht, Thus dramaturgy, character of reality. tive”: revealing the theatrical contingent (and therefore activity that reveals the fundamentally an outspoken ideological is used as a way to expose dramaturgy “constructive” In Oeps this reality. changeable) status of so-called truth.and destroy dominant “as if.” thanks to codes and conventions; a game that functions Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00691 by guest on 02 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00691 by guest on 02October 2021

56 Karel Vanhaesebrouck the past?” the Belgian F16s bombing Iraq and Syria last summer? Why have we not learned anything from four yearsandwhyarewenotabletothinkforthreesecondsasktherightquestionsabout The desperatepeaceactivistinOeps the necessaryattentiontowhatreally happenedandcontinuestohappenrightunderournoses. ments andinstitutionscommemorate WWI toconstructandmaintainafiction. Fewarepaying and big memory iscommodified. Bothproductions, fromdifferentperspectives, revealthatthe ilar ambition. Bothwanttodenouncetheselectivityofhistoricalmemoryaswellhowthat Despite thedifferencesbetweenMementoPark andOeps, bothproductionsarefueledbyasim- The CommodificationofMemory 17. Catherine, Lucas. 2013. Loopgraven in Afrika (1914–1918):Devergeten oorlog van deCongolezen tegen de Brosens, Griet. 2013. Congo aanden Yser: De32Congolese soldatenvan hetBelgisch leger indeEerste Brabander, LudoDe. 2016. Oorlog zonderGrenzen. Berchem:Epo. Bleeker, Maaike. 2010. “Playing SoldiersattheEdgeofImagination. HotelModernandtheRepresentation Bellinck, Thomas.2015. Barr, James. 2011. ALineintheSand:Britain, France thatShapedtheMiddleEast.London: andtheStruggle Baetens, Jan, Karel Vanhaesebrouck, andBrecht Van Maele. 2014.Mythologieën. Aalst: KleineVlaamse Badiou, Alain.2016. Alstein, Maarten Van. 2013. “Vredig Vlaanderen herdenktdeGroteOorlog.” Rekto:Verso References the dutytocommemoratethosedifferenthistoriesinlayered, multifacetedways. it showsthatotherversionsofhistoryarepossible, differentthantheofficialstory. We have Documentary theatrerevealsthecontingent, non-necessarystatusofthatcourseaction; orated. War andthememoryofwararedirectedaccordingtoadramaticcourseaction. media andafterwardsrecordedinculturalmemory words realitygraftsitselfontofiction. Thatsamescriptissubsequentlyreproducedbythe On theterrain, theactors-soldiersexecutescriptthattheyhaverehearsed. Inother fare runsaccordingtoscripts, withcostumes, actors, extras, andthenecessarymelodrama. Iraqis (mostlyexpats), whoadapttheirbehaviortothesoldiers’actions. Postmodernwar ship districts, bustlingwithinhabitants(47–48). The villagesarepopulatedby Arab-speaking Iraqi villages, “living, breathingenvironmentswithresidential, government, retail, and wor (Magelssen 2009:48), American soldierstrainina “theatre ofwar,” withcompletelyrebuilt Training CenteratFortIrwin, California, “a 1000milesimulationofanIraqiprovince” Waarom hebben we niks uit het verleden geleerd? juiste vragen stellen over de bombardementen van de F16’s van het Belgische Leger in Irak en Syrië deze zomer? Waarom herdenken we vier jaar lang Wereldoorlog I maar kunnen we geen drie seconden lang nadenken en de Berchem: Epo. Duitsers. [Trenches in Africa (1914–1918): The forgottenwaroftheCongoleseagainstGermans]. during WW1].Manteau. Antwerpen: Wereldoorlog [Congoatthe Yser Riverside: The Storyofthe32CongoleseSoldiersBelgian Army of theUnrepresentable.” Arcadia45, 2:277–96. Simon &Schuster. Het Balanseer. Accessed 30October2016. www.rektoverso.be/artikel/vredig-vlaanderen-herdenkt-de-grote-oorlog. At thebeginningof21stcentury, wariscompletelyvirtualized. IntheUSA’s National — 17 commercial intereststhatsteerhistoriographystartfromthesameparadox:govern-

Notre malvientdeplusloin:Penser lestueriesdu13novembre. Paris:Fayard. Memento Park. Unpublishedscript. confronts thepublic: “Why dowecommemorate WWI for — and, finally, passionatelycommem 57 May–June. — small - - - WWI Commemorations 57 Unpublished manuscript. 53, 1 (T201):47–72. 53, New York: International Publishers. York: Selections from the Prison Notebooks. New Principes élémentaires de propagande de guerre (Utilisables en cas de guerre froide, chaude chaude froide, en cas de guerre (Utilisables de guerre de propagande Principes élémentaires The End of the Sykes-Picot Agreement.” YouTube. Accessed 30 October 2016. www Accessed 30 October 2016. YouTube. Agreement.” The End of the Sykes-Picot —

[Jan Oscar de Gruyter and the Flemish Popular Theatre 1920–1924: Towards a historiographic a historiographic [JanTowards Theatre 1920–1924: Flemish Popular Oscar de Gruyter and the

.youtube.com/watch?v=MSNCPj7s6vI. www.liberation.fr/debats/2015/12/10/un-recit-qui-n-oublie-pas-les-perdants_1419861. 2016. TDR Theatres of War.” Aden. Bruxelles: Editions ou tiède...). studie Leuven: Peeters Publishers. approach to theatre]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fl4QY5Cqtxc. Accessed 30 October 2016. August. 17 YouTube, Publishers. [Memento Park I-herdenkingen en eventization” WO KVS, / Steigeisen & Thomas Bellinck Park van 33, Documenta and eventization]. WW1 commemorations / Steigeisen & KVS, Thomas Bellinck by 2:57–82. Alternatives théâtrales. Bruxelles: du Groupov. l’aventure Lannoo. Tielt: Five continents in Flanders]. Gruyter. Berlin: De Handbook. Grove Press. York: New Bhabha. K. Jean-Paul Sartre and Homi Atlas Contact. Amsterdam: African soldiers in Europe]. Leuven: Kritak. TDM. released by DVD CANVAS; Routledge. . New York: Picador. York: New The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. Doctrine: The Shock 2008. Naomi. Klein, Nouvelles. Bruxelles/Paris: Les Impressions . belges mythologies Petites 2013. Jean-Marie. Klinkenberg, Accessed 30 October 10 December. , Libération “Un récit qui n’oublie pas les perdants.” 2015. Faoud. Laroui, ‘Theatre Immersion’ and the Simulation of the Ethos’: ‘Warrior “Rehearsing the 2009. Scott. Magelssen, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. of the Real. Theatre 2013. Carol. Martin, Anne. 2001. Morelli, Paris: Gallimard. 3 volumes. . Les Lieux de mémoire 1984–1993. ed. Pierre, Nora, Lorimer. 1914–1918. Toronto: War Class The Great 2016. Jacques R. Pauwels, 1920–1924: Een theaterhistoriografische Volkstoneel Vlaamse Oscar de Gruyter en het Jan 1989. Frank. Peeters, Aleppo.” boy Omran Daqneesh) after an air raid in “Bloody Syrian boy (5-year-old 2016. RandomDingen. Lannoo. Tielt: [The usefulness of the past]. het verleden Het nut van 2006. Marc. Reynebeau, 3:251–58. Memory 5, Studies “Reconciliation and remembering: (How) does it work?” 2012. Ann. Rigney, Oeps. 2016. et al. Verbist, Jos Vanhaesebrouck, Karel Raven, Ruell, . Rotterdam: NAI NAI Rotterdam: . de angst van stad in het tijdperk de Over beschaving: De capsulaire 2004. Lieven De. Cauter, “‘Zou zijn’: Over Memento soms niet beter kunnen oorlog, een heel klein beetje 2015. Jasper. Delbecke, à travers dans la société du spectacle sur le théâtre Repères la fin: vers Sur la limite, 2012. Jacques. Delcuvellerie, 1: [Worldwar Vlaanderen in continenten Vijf 1: Wereldoorlog 2008. and Piet Chielens. Dominiek, Dendooven, An International and Interdisciplinary Memory Studies: Cultural 2008. Ansgar Nünning. and Astrid, Erll, Commentary by by Richard Philcox. Translated of the Earth. Wretched The (1968) 2004. Frantz. Fanon, in Europa 1914–1922 [The black shame: Afrikaanse soldaten schande: De zwarte 2012. Van. Dick Galen Last, 1971. Antonio. Gramsci, London: Faber & Faber. Stuff Happens. 2006. David. Hare, 1942–1952. in België, en repressie Collaboratie verleden: Onverwerkt 1991. Dhondt. and Steven Luc, Huyse, “ISIS n.d. ISIS. Houtekiet. Antwerpen: War]. [The Great De Groote Oorlog 1997. Sophie De. Schaepdrijver, Produced by VRT. Aired on Little Belgium. Brave 2014. and Mark De Geest. Sophie De, Schaepdrijver, London: Routledge. . Imaginaries Performed 2015. Richard. Schechner, Theatrical Reenactment. London: of Times in War Art and Remains: Performing 2011. Rebecca. Schneider, Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00691 by guest on 02 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00691 by guest on 02October 2021

58 Karel Vanhaesebrouck Ypersele, Laurence Van. 2014. “WWI commemorationsinBelgium giveaglimpseofdividednation,” Xingqing, Gu. 2010. Mijnherinneringen alstolkvoor deChinesearbeiders in WO1 [MyMemoriesasa White, Hayden. 1973Metahistory: The HistoricalImagination Europe. inNineteenth-Century Reissueedition. Weiss, Peter. (1967)1971. “The MaterialandtheModels. NotestowardsaDefinitionofDocumentary VRT. 2015. InVlaamseVelden (InFlanders’Fields), TV series. Vanhaesebrouck, Karel, ChristineGuillain, and Yves Cartuyvels. 2015. SpectacleetJustice: Regards croiséssur Van derSpeeten, Geert. 2015. wilallesopzijnkopkunnenzetten’: Thomas Bellinckmaakt “‘Ik ‘Memento Turner, Cathy, andSynneK. Behrndt. 2007. Dramaturgy andPerformance. Basingstoke:PalgraveMacmillan. Tollebeek, Jo, etal., eds. 2009. Hetgeheugen van delage landen[Thememoryofthelowcountries].Rekkem: Tollebeek, Jo, etal., eds. 2008. België:eenparcours van herinnering[Belgium:atrailofmemory].Amsterdam: /wwi-commemorations-in-belgium-give-a-glimpse-of-a-divided-nation-29813. trans.Ben Wellings. translator fortheChineselaborersduring WWI]. Tielt: Lannoo. Baltimore, MD:JohnsHopkinsUniversityPress. .” Theatre.” la justicepénalebelge. Tielt: LannooCampus. Park’ voordeKVS.” DeStandaard , 31January:C6–C7. Ons erfdeel. Prometheus|Bert Bakker. Theatre Quarterly 1, 1:41–43. The Conversation, 31July. Accessed 30October2016. https://theconversation.com