After two years of research and creation, the moment has come: on Thursday, October 30, BAKENEKO meets its first audience in Tilburg.
A documentary physical performance about trauma, the realities that live beneath the skin, and the blind spots of our society.
In BAKENEKO, performer and creator Charlotte Goesaert takes the stage herself in a physical solo about how trauma settles in the body — invisible to the outside world, yet shaping everything from within. The performance exposes the lingering traces of childhood abuse and neglect, while questioning the mechanisms that allow them to persist.
Drawing from conversations with people who, through their professional or social roles, encounter these realities, Goesaert intertwines their voices, images, and sounds with the expressive presence of her own body. The result is an intense scenic experience where documentary elements and physical imagination challenge and reinforce one another.
BAKENEKO is not a search for clear-cut answers, but an invitation to collective reflection. Why do we so often notice the signs too late? Why don’t we intervene sooner? What needs to change to better protect children? How do we deal with a reality we’d rather forget? Where lies the boundary between compassion and discomfort? Goesaert immerses the audience in an experience that unsettles, touches, and lingers long after.
Following whatchamacallit, Charlotte Goesaert deepens her distinctive stage language — where image, body, and sound converge in a physical, vulnerable, and confrontational performance that makes visible what usually remains unseen.
Created and performed by: Charlotte Goesaert
In co-creation with: Sara Vanderieck & Jochem Baelus
Sound & video composition: Jochem Baelus
Lighting design & scenography: Lucas van Haesbroeck
Technical design: Thierry Wilders
Qlab & technical support: Sander Salden & Barbara de Wit
Costume design and visual concept: Sofie Velghe
Outside eye: Camille Paycha
Sound/shoots: Alec de Bruyn
Business management: Astrid de Haes
Production management: Bo Verpoten
Head technician on tour: Simon Neels
Co-producers: DansBrabant, KAAP, C-TAKT, Flemish Cultural Center de Brakke Grond, Platform 0090 — with the financial support of the Flemish Government.
With thanks to all interviewees, Stormkop, Loods21, Kwinten van Laethem, Jo Thielemans, Jochem van Tol, Karolien Derwael, Desco Badkamers, Boomkwekerij De Bruin and Kato Wilms.
Tour dates
You can find the full tour schedule here.
