We are before Lecture performance

People surrounding a table looking towards a person in a blue shirt

We Are Before (stories of an intruder)

For the past seven years of my life I was an intruder. Unasked and uninvited, I walked into meeting-rooms, and started to speak about how we live together as human beings, about society as a co-creation by every-one. One could see my intervention as a bomb or as a gift. People were surprised, shocked, moved, angry. With my guerilla-speech was I tried to transform any meeting into a political moment. I surprised more than 10.000 people this way, interrupting their daily routines by asking big and small questions about life. I always said the same words, I called it Lecture For Every One. It spread over twelve different countries but remained largely invisible. Like a virus. This is not fiction, this really happened. Now I want to share this story about words, love, violence and connection. About people alone and together. It’s a story about what it means to speak up, today. About the (im)possibility to address every-one. And about how we are always before. Before the war starts, before you kiss, before you really decide. How today also, we are before.

This lecture performance will take place at MDT. It will be presented by Sarah Vanhee via link – together with the printed publication of We Are Before, which will be possible to purchase.

Performance & text: Sarah Vanhee. Set-design: Astrid Fieuws. Produced by: Manyone. Co-produced by: CAMPO, Vooruit, kunstencentrum BUDA, Kunstenfestivaldesarts, STUK, BIT Teatergarasjen, Skogen. Book published & distributed by: APE.

Artists

Sarah Vanhee