Annotation:
This solo performance will bring relief to all who need to stop, take a breath, and reclaim time – and together with it, their lives – from public control. In this compelling personal portrait, Claessens takes a wide detour away from required elements, such as notions about proper procedures, knowledge, fulfillment of expectations, maximum performance, structure, the purpose of things, and so on. He humorously relativizes the values defined through “white heterosexual consensus” and hedonistically replaces them with pointless things – art, delight, astonishment, and sharing for example. He takes his time doing this. He is sincere, intimate, lively, and enthusiastic. He tears things out of context, presenting them in a simple way and proposing new ways of viewing situations and problems. It is possible to live without criticizing, being judgmental, or making proclamations. Benny gives his audiences back their time – time to observe, to think, to feel, and the time to stop. To stop and just be – to be yourself. It is truly a pleasant feeling.
During his last few years at the Münchner Kammerspiele theatre, Benny Claessens collaborated with the well known director Johan Simons, whom he later followed to the NTGent in Belgium. In the meantime, Claessens created a solo performance at the CAMPO arts center, also in Belgium.
