In The Trench Operetta, Nikolas Lestaeghe tries to find answers to the questions his family cannot talk about. Following The Halfmoon Files, he interviewed his own family as an anthropological study of himself.

Nikolas draws on failed interviews with his grandfather about his origins, family name and history, on Viennese and German operettas, and on his own need to be meaningful. The result is a wry, bitter operetta in which he takes three other performers along. He starts from their own small histories, full of unspeakable taboos, and ends up in the grandeur of a trench war. The premiere took place on 9 May 2015 at Theater Malpertuis.

With the support of Pianofabriek Kunstenwerkplaats, the Flemish Community Commission, KASK and GoneWest, the cultural commemoration of WWI by the Province of West Flanders, of which this project is a part.

We dance the trench dance
We sing the song of heroism
We are troubled by life’s uncertainties
We have a fit
We hold each other up
We search for a meaningful origin

And all together we sing:
“This is the trench operetta
in which the Germans occupied Belgium
but it doesn’t end there
so much is still not right
so much not right
so much not right”

Credits

Concept and direction: Nikolas Lestaeghe
Performance and singing: Linde Carrijn, Anjana Dierckx, Nikolas Lestaeghe, Marlies Tack
Vocal coaching: Rik Debonne