ARCHIVE: Sirens

Directed by Alexander Devriendt
Written by Karolien De Bleser, Charlotte De Bruyne, Aurélie Lannoy,
Marjan De Schutter, Anemone Valcke, Verona Verbakel

We welcome Belgian company Ontroerend Goed to Tobacco Factory Theatres as part of its trailblazing international tour with Sirens, its astonishingly brave, critically-acclaimed and award-winning show. 

We are the weaker sex. We can’t control our feelings; crying, sulking and
suffering inexplicable mood-swings. We are either whores or saints. We’re good liars, using our bodies to get on in life. We’re sirens. The stage is ours.

Sirens starts off as a concert. Six voices, six vocalists screaming their lungs out. Loud but controlled. What follows is a barrage of images representing contemporary femininity. After decades of feminism, the performers look at what it is to be a woman – dealing with role models, patterns of expectation, persisting inequalities, acquired rights, inner censorship and everyday abuse, as well as the new-found liberties and joys of being female in the free world.

The performance explores images from the fashion industry, advertisement, porn and language bites exemplifying everyday verbal sexism, drawing on personal experiences as well as social media and song lyrics. The performance deftly explores the space between concert and theatre piece and shows sublime mastery of the female voice, in every sense of the word.