Thomas Verstraeten and street drama

Thomas Verstraeten and street drama

Erwin Jans on Seefhoek Series

The Seefhoek became a household name in all of Flanders in 1988, when the television program Panorama reported on the emergence of the far-right political party ‘Vlaams Blok’, now called ‘Vlaams Belang’ (Flemish Interest), a party that grew big in this neighbourhood. Just a few months ago, the area again drew negative commentary in the news because of an unexploded bomb linked to the criminal drug world. (Pre)judgements aplenty about the Seefhoek. Even so, Seefhoek series was (the interventions took place this past fall on September 22-30) nothing more or less than a declaration of love.

Thomas Verstraeten - “When people talk about the Seefhoek, it’s usually in negative and pejorative terms, whereas I think it’s one of the finest neighbourhoods in the city. The whole world lives there together in a relatively harmonious way. It has a church and a mosque, a swimming pool, a psychology clinic, a Chinese wholesaler, restaurants, a video company, a place for sheltered accommodation – all of that represents a very diverse and rich community.”

Dramaturg Erwin Jans described the work of Thomas Verstraeten and the project Seefhoek Series for Theaterkrant. Read (the English translation of) the article.

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