AT THE TROUBLEYN/LABORATORIUM
Pastorijstraat 23 2060 Antwerpen, Belgium
'The Poetry of Resistance 2026' marks forty years of Troubleyn / Jan Fabre with a bold anniversary program shaped by vulnerability and transformation. It brings together works where sensitivity turns to strength, creativity becomes a catalyst, and unexpected beauty breaks through the cracks, while poetic tributes echo our shared struggles and aspirations.
The festival presents three Belgian premières. It begins with I’M SORRY, in which Stella Höttler plays a character who constantly apologises her way through a world full of self-censorship, in a thought-provoking monologue — “a rebellious feminist manifesto” (Floriana Conte, Bee Magazine). The journey continues with UNA TRIBÙ, ECCO QUELLO CHE SONO / A tribe that is me, performed by Irene Urciuoli, which offers Jan Fabre’s poetic response to the radical vision of Antonin Artaud, inviting audiences into a realm guided by spiritual intensity and raw truth. The third Belgian première, LA POÉSIE DE LA RÉSISTANCE / The Poetry of Resistance, performed by Annabelle Chambon & Cédric Charron, unfolds as a rhythmic manifesto celebrating art, poetry, and nonviolent resistance against suppression.
At the heart of the festival stands the three-time international award-winning PEAK MYTIKAS (On the Top of Mount Olympus), an eight-hour mythological rave that merges ritual with rebellion and leads audiences toward ecstatic catharsis. The celebration concludes with the world première of HARAKIRI (A political and incorrect performance), a bold and absurd theatrical eruption that confronts today’s contradictions with sharp irony and fearless energy.
The Poetry of Resistance 2026 invites audiences into the Troubleyn/ Jan Fabre universe to experience art’s power to provoke, transform, and inspire.
| Friday 27 February 2026 20:30 - 21:30 I'M SORRY with Stella Höttler Belgian Première |
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| Saturday 28 February 2026 18:00 - 19:30 ART & ARCHITECTURE TOUR with Wil Beckers 20:30 - 21:30 I'M SORRY with Stella Höttler |
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| Monday 2 March - Friday 13 March 2026 JAN FABRE TEACHING GROUP 10 Day Masterclass with teacher Ivana Jozic |
MORE INFO |
| Wednesday 4 March 2026 20:30 - 21:30 UNA TRIBÙ, ECCO QUELLO CHE SONO with Irene Urciuoli Belgian Première |
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| Friday 6 March 2026 20:30 - 21:30 LA POÉSIE DE LA RÉSISTANCE with Annabelle Chambon & Cédric Charron Belgian Première |
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| Saturday 7 March 2026 18:00 - 19:30 ART & ARCHITECTURE TOUR with Wil Beckers 20:30 - 21:30 LA POÉSIE DE LA RÉSISTANCE with Annabelle Chambon & Cédric Charron |
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| Wednesday 11 March 2026 20:30 - 21:30 UNA TRIBÙ, ECCO QUELLO CHE SONO with Irene Urciuoli |
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| Saturday 14 March 2026 14:00 - 22:00 PEAK MYTIKAS (On the top of Mount Olympus) - An 8 hour performance |
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| Thursday 19 March 2026 20:30 - 22:00 HARAKIRI (A political and incorrect performance) World Première |
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| Friday 20 March 2026 20:30 - 22:00 HARAKIRI (A political and incorrect performance) |
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PERFORMANCES
I'M SORRY / UNA TRIBÙ, ECCO QUELLO CHE SONO / LA POÉSIE DE LA RÉSISTANCE:
Standard price € 25,00 / Under 30 | Student | 65 plus € 22,00
HARAKIRI (A political and incorrect performance):
Standard price € 28,00 / Under 30 | Student | 65 plus € 25,00
PEAK MYTIKAS (On the top of Mount Olympus)*:
Standard price € 50,00 / Under 30 | Student | 65 plus € 30,00
*The performance is 8 hours long with no intermission.
Audience members for Peak Mytikas are invited to come and go from the theatre as they please.
Light snacks (soup, chips, chocolate, fruit) and drinks are available for purchase from our bar before, during & after the performance.
A NIGHT OF ART @TROUBLEYN/LABORATORIUM
One ticket - An art tour & performance
Standard price € 35,00 / Under 30 | Student | 65 plus € 30,00
Enjoy a 1.5-hour behind-the-scenes art tour of the Troubleyn/Laboratorium and its art treasures, followed by a performance.
Location: start in the foyer @Troubleyn Laboratorium
Language: Dutch
Maximum 15 participants.
| Saturday 28 February 2026 18:00 - 21:30 ART TOUR & I'M SORRY with Stella Höttler |
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| Saturday 7 March 2026 18:00 - 21:30 ART TOUR & LA POÉSIE DE LA RÉSISTANCE with Annabelle Chambon & Cédric Charron |
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FESTIVAL PASS
Standard price € 95,00 / Under 30 | Student | 65 plus € 75,00
Purchase a Festival Pass HERE
The Festival Pass offers you an exclusive opportunity to reserve one ticket for each of the following performances. Enjoy the flexibility and convenience of securing your spot at all five performances with one pass purchase.
After purchasing your Festival Pass, you will receive an email to confirm which performances you would like to reserve your place for. If you do not receive this email within 24 hours of purchase, please contact us at tickets@troubleyn.be to ensure your reservations are secured.
- The Festival Pass includes one ticket reservation per performance.
- Reservations must be made in advance and are subject to availability.
- The pass is personal and non-transferable; it is valid only for the named holder.
- The Festival Pass is valid only for the specified performances and does not include additional events or masterclasses.
ART & ARCHITECTUUR TOUR
@Troubleyn/Laboratorium
Discover the Troubleyn/Laboratorium and its art during this unique behind-the-scenes guided tour. Learn the history of this former 'Ringtheater', which was destroyed by a fire in 1974 and has since been rebuilt. Explore the integrated and permanent works of more than 70 international artists...[READ MORE]
Language: Dutch (Only)
Your guide: Wil Beckers
JAN FABRE TEACHING GROUP 10-DAY MASTERCLASS
MONDAY 3 FEBRUARY - FRIDAY 14 FEBRUARY 2025
5 hours / day - 10 am > 3 pm (Monday to Friday)
During the 2026 Festival | Poetry of Resistance, we are organising a new session of the Jan Fabre Teaching Group in the Troubleyn/Laboratorium in Antwerp. Participants can take part in a 10-day session working with teacher Ivana Jozic.
I’M SORRY
With Stella Höttler
The character played by Stella Höttler is lost and confused in this post-wokeness world. Therefore, she apologizes for everything—for how she looks, for how she behaves, for what she says … She tries to find her way in the world of self-censorship... [READ MORE]
"The beautiful text written by Jan Fabre and Stella Hӧttler was accompanied by an evocative soundtrack consisting of pieces from the St. Matthew Passion by Johann Sebastian Bach and a fascinating lighting design by Wout Janssens. Stella Hӧttler rendered her singular character with excellent expressive ability, both with her body and with vocal recitation in perfect Italian.” - Carlo Tomeo | Alessandria today
Italian spoken | English & Dutch surtitles
Duration: 1 Hour with no intermission.
UNA TRIBÙ, ECCO QUELLO CHE SONO
With Irene Urciuoli
Una tribù, ecco quello che sono | A Tribe, That Is Me (2004) is Jan Fabre’s poetic perspective on the work of theatre visionary Antonin Artaud, the 'founder' of the Théâtre de la Cruauté (1938). This cruelty is not physical, but spiritual—a call to return to raw, unfiltered truth.... [READ MORE]
“Hypnotic skill of an extraordinary Irene Urcioli… a splendid Irene Urciuoli, with her great brilliance of form, could shoulder the weight of such a heavy role in which sacrifice takes on an overwhelming concreteness... further emphasizes how the performer uses every part of her body, with splendid mimic vibrations, as language.” - Adelio Rigamonti | Teatro do Milano
Italian spoken | English & Dutch surtitles
Duration: 1 Hour with no intermission.
LA POÉSIE DE LA RÉSISTANCE
With Annabelle Chambon & Cédric Charron
La poésie de la résistance / The Poetry of Resistance is a powerful and engaging theatre text, written by Jan Fabre in 2024, that celebrates the strength of art, poetry, and resistance against oppression. In a poetic and rhythmic manifesto, two performers present themselves as members of an artistic resistance movement, fighting non-violently against censorship, suppression, and conformity...[READ MORE]
"The power of the text is immense....There is a kind of irony, therefore, but also the demonstration that when you believe in something, you can overcome any obstacle and continue moving forward. Art, therefore, is true freedom, because it cannot be killed and is always present in those who continue to dream, dance, speak, and love, even if the bullets keep coming." - Mariella Bussolati | MilanoFree.it
French spoken | English & Dutch surtitles
Duration: 1 Hour with no intermission.
PEAK MYTIKAS
(On the top of Mount Olympus)
An 8 hour - performance
The highest peak of Mount Olympus is called Mytikas, a Greek word for nose. As the gods live on that mountain, the Nose is the nose of all the gods. Eleven multi-talented performers (actors, dancers, and musicians) join Jan Fabre in the creation of this 8-hour-long mythological rave... [READ MORE]
"Do Greek myths still mean anything to us today? Answered by the extraordinary Peak Mytikas (On the top of Mount Olympus), an excellent text by Johan de Boose, an 8-hour performance by Jan Fabre, a genius multidisciplinary artist dedicated to active provocation, who makes the crossover between the arts the signature of his visionary poetics, and 11 exceptional actors, dancers and musicians of astounding expressiveness…” - Magda Poli | Corriere della Sera
Multiple languages spoken | English subtitles
Duration: 8 hours long with no intermission.
Audience members are invited to come and go from the theatre as they please.
HARAKIRI
(A political and incorrect performance)
Jan Fabre teams up with his Troubleyn company of 11 brilliant actors and dancers to present HARAKIRI (A political and incorrect performance) - a daring new dance and theater creation. A ‘razorblade’ performance, designed to simultaneously wound and amuse, it pushes the boundaries of performance art and provokes thought on the world we live in today...[READ MORE]
"HARAKIRI ★★★★★ is a great performance for those who think theater should sometimes be provocative." - Sascha Siereveld | concertnews
Multiple languages spoken | English & Dutch surtitles
Duration: 1 hour & 40 min with no intermission.
