The Turntable - Steven Prengels / Koen Tachelet / Peter Van den Begin / Tom Lanoye

On the Turntable of History The Antwerp opera plays a prominent role in Tom Lanoye's successful novel De draaischijf. Main character Alex Desmedt is obsessed with theater. In pre-war Antwerp, he works his way up from actor and director to theater director – together with his wife and muse Lea, a Dutch-Jewish actress. Formally too, Alex wants to be an innovator, through the introduction of a turntable, as an extra stage within the stage. Shortly after the beginning of the German occupation, he is appointed director-general of the Antwerp theaters, which thus also include the opera. For Alex it is dancing on a tightrope – between offering resistance and paying lip service – while his brother and opera conductor Rik fully chooses collaboration. Actor Peter Van den Begin performs De draaischijf as a monologue with symphonic music by Steven Prengels, and flanked by fellow artist Jan Decleir. In the sensual language of Tom Lanoye, he shamelessly delves into the tragic lives of Alex, Rik and Lea. Thus De draaischijf – in addition to a reconstruction of a dark page from Antwerp's cultural life – also becomes a personal reflection on life in the theater.