What happens when a war doesn’t end when it is over? In ravensbrück, theatre maker Stefanie Claes explores how her grandmother’s past continues to shape her own life.
During the Second World War, Stefanie’s grandmother Aline Vervoort was arrested and deported to the Ravensbrück concentration camp. She survived, but carried the scars of that time with her for the rest of her life. These experiences also found their way into the lives of her daughter and granddaughter. From a young age, Stefanie senses that something unspoken is present within her family. As a child, she dreams of soldiers in her street. Only at the age of sixteen does she learn the truth. Conversations with her mother and grandmother make her increasingly aware of how deeply the past is intertwined with the present.
In ravensbrück, she tells this family story without words. Using images, drawings, light and handcraft, she makes emotions and memories tangible. The performance is intimate and precise, inviting quiet attention. Every gesture matters.
The production was developed together with Mia Kermis, with whom Stefanie previously shaped her own theatrical language: artisanal, personal and visual. She draws inspiration from conversations with her family, as well as from letters, documentaries, historical sources and insights from trauma experts.
ravensbrück is not only about the war past, but above all about the way events continue to resonate. In bodies, in words, in silences. About how history settles into everyday life, often without us immediately noticing. Three generations of women take centre stage. Their connection, resilience and vulnerability form the heart of this visual story.
The performance was selected for the Theatre Festival 2024 and has been praised for its precision and sensitivity. ravensbrück is presented in the context of 4 and 5 May. Suitable for adults and children aged 10 and up.
This performance is part of SHIFT, an initiative by Explore the North and Stadsschouwburg De Harmonie.
Unironed performing arts: raw, honest, contemporary and unsettling. SHIFT is for those who want to understand what’s going on: in your mind, in the world, with others, with yourself, on both a grand and an intimate scale. For curious thinkers and critical dreamers. Throughout the year, at changing locations, SHIFT presents must-see performances beyond the conventional paths of theatre. From spoken word to postmodern dance. From theatrical manifesto to poetic requiem. Works by both emerging and established makers that engage with the present and the future.
