About this event
tickets Friday 11.09.2026 >> Saturday 12.09.2026 >> Grindr, 2020. I swipe a handsome man. He’s looking for friends and fun - meaning Netflix and chill. He’s from Latin America, but can be at my place in 10 minutes. More than a year and two rejected asylum applications later, we are in a relationship. Although now it has to be officially proven. That is the only way for us to be together. But how do you prove that something which exists is real? How do you avoid giving a disastrously wrong answer to a crucial question in a Kafkaesque cross-examination? After “Dancing with My Mother”, Neal Leemput returns to the stage this time with - by now - his ex. Together they delve into their shared past and everything that came before it. about Neal Leemput (1990) studied Word Art at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp. Storytelling is the common thread running through his life and career. Until recently, he was a speechwriter for former Deputy Prime Minister Petra De Sutter. Before that, he was artist-in-residence at De Studio in Antwerp, where he wrote, performed and directed his own theatre productions and served as the first Secretary of Queer Affairs. During that period, he also regularly published opinion pieces and columns in newspapers and magazines. During the pandemic, he taught Dutch in secondary education. After a brief three-year hiatus from the stage, he now returns to his theatrical roots with the performance ‘Dancing With My Ex’. This year, Het TheaterFestival opens the performing arts season for the 36th time. After Antwerp and Ghent, the festival returns to Brussels. From 2 to 12 September 2026, hTF brings together the most remarkable productions of the past season. From theatre to dance, circus and performance, it presents productions selected by an independent multi-voiced VakJury. There is also a jury made up of open-minded city residents of varying ages and cultural backgrounds, with little or no prior experience with theatre: the WijkJury. In Brussels, Ghent and Antwerp, each city comes together in its own WijkJury. Together, they attend around ten productions per year and, at the end of the theatre season, choose their favourite: De Keuze van de WijkJury. WijkJury Antwerpen report: What makes this production exceptional in the jury's view is its social relevance and the mutual respect at the heart of the piece. As one jury member put it: "You don't think about these stories until you find yourself in one." "This needs to be heard! Because so many people go through this every day!" https://www.instagram.com/hettheaterfestival www.theaterfestival.be — 70min By Neal Leemput, Danny de Jong and Gerson Jimenez Rivas | performers Neal Leemput and Gerson Jimenez Rivas | production De Studio
