Lisaboa Houbrechts rediscovered herself in India during the pandemic: in Varanasi, the city of the dead, she rewrote Hermann Hesse’s iconic novel Siddhartha as a spectacular music theatre production with music by the New York composer Caroline Shaw.

"Dreams and restless thoughts came flowing to me from the waters of the river. More and more, I became aware that the love shown to me by others would not ultimately be able to make me completely happy, to give me the peace and serenity that I long for so much." - Siddhartha

An inner voice prompts Siddhartha to leave his home. He wanders many paths before he finds satisfaction in the paradoxes of life. Houbrechts turns Hermann Hesse’s allegorical narrative about Buddha’s historical namesake into the story of the life of a young woman who tries to discover her soul.

In her poetic adaptation, Lisaboa Houbrechts reveals a polyphony that unites cultures and arts, reinvents characters and plays with gender roles. Siddhartha is performed by singer-songwriter Meskerem Mees. With music by Caroline Shaw – performed live by the 25-member Latvian Radio Choir – Siddhartha unites theatre, modern opera, pop improvisations, Sufi chanting and Indian dance.

After its world premiere in the imposing Maschinenhalle Zweckel in Gladbeck during the Ruhr Triennale, Siddhartha can be seen in Antwerp on location in the scenery depot of the Kambala.

"Siddhartha is a journey in stages, one that lends itself beautifully to narration and is aesthetically of the highest calibre. A performance in which you can lose yourself, one that radiates a great inner peace."

Stefan Keim in Deutschlandfunk Kultur , 10 September 2026

"Through Houbrecht’s visual language, with Caroline Shaw’s at times Baroque, at times modernist compositions and Casper Clausen’s soundscape, this music theatre epic performed with conviction by the renowned Latvian Radio Choir and seven actor-singers takes over the majestic space of the Machinehalle with image and sound. And captivates the audience."

– Lucia van Heteren in Theaterkrant , 13 September 2026

"Houbrechts' Siddhartha connects Hesse's world with her own reality in a remarkably authentic way." (...) "Houbrechts wastes even fewer words on the story than Hesse did at the time. She tells the spiritual quest of her Siddhartha primarily through singing, dance and movement. Body language, in other words. Enchanting music by Caroline Shaw supports this, in a magnificent performance by the Latvian Radio Choir and soloists including Mees, Mariño, Khan, Claron McFadden and Casper Clausen (frontman of the band Efterklang). Clausen and Brecht Beuselinck add a sparse yet atmospheric soundscape."

– Pieter T'Jonck in Pzazz , 14 September 2026

"Images of incredible tenderness"

– Anke Demirsoy in Rheinische Post , 11 September 2026

"I tried to translate the solace Herman Hesse’s book gave me onto the stage."

– Lisaboa Houbrechts in De Tijd , 9 September 2026

"You follow Siddhartha’s journey, the highs and lows. With plenty of dance, song and music – composed by Caroline Shaw – the show explores how a person sometimes needs solitude in life in order to dare to look themself in the eye."

– Lisaboa Houbrechts in Knack Focus , 3 September 2026