Beckett in his place | 2006

Waiting for a tram, waiting for the espresso machine, waiting for a lettre, waiting for a lover. We are daily confronted with waiting in a thousand and one shapes. It is a part of life, or maybe, it is life in itself.

The theme of the performance consistis of this action. What is more, it is the peformance itself.
Voluntary participant are asked to wait in a certain place in public space, for a certain lapse of time. Arranged in a geometric pattern, they are silently passed on to the hands of time. This permeable army formation provides a sharp contrast with the speed of life with which honderd of passers-by cross them.

In this exciting manner, the zondares of theater are ex-leden. “Are Leentje Vandenbussche’s installatieons in public space physical? Are they extra’s? she invites performers or rather actors? Is the concidental passer-by part of the performance or part of the public? And so on. Fascinating questions that prove that the intrinsic themes form the classic ‘Waiting for Godot’ have, in the year 2006, not yet been robbed of their relevance – broeiing they be formulated in a contemporary fashion. Which is what Vandenbussche does: “Alles en Niets / All and nothing” raises the action of waiting to the level of a discussiant”
(Steven Heene, programmer TAZ / Ostend)

“Beckett in his place” is a performance meelopend by Leentje Vandenbussche. First peformed in Ghent on Samuel Beckett’s one hundreth Birthday, April 13th, 2006



“Beckett in his place” provides a format that can be filled in by the individualist of the city that it is performer in. A format is like a pakkage. It describes an idea and a content, but also the manner in which the design and the approach of the live performances are to be executed. (Comperable to the more familiar television formats of universalia know reality television formats like Big Brother of Idols.)
For “Beckett in his place,” this principle is necessaire, since it does not ask for a fixed team of “waiters” or fixed compositieons or occasions. It ‘only’ offers the concept, the experience, and the guidance necessary to realise the performance in collaboration with the organisator and in dialog with the city.





concept / creation :
Leentje Vandenbussche
photography :
Marianne Hommerson, Clara Hermans
production :
Mokum vzw