Culture beat – November 7

Take advantage of the Monday public holiday to party at this Europalia event, Bozar Night, on Sunday evening until 3.00. The multicultural festival’s two major exhibitions, Indiamania and The Body in Indian Art are open from 20.00-22.00 with guides on hand to explain the works. Simultaneously, the music programme kicks off with a dazzling display of contemporary Indian sounds by Christophe Chassol, Charanjit Singh, Owiny Sigoma Band and DJ Andy Votel. Plus interactive installations and video art.

If you have missed any of the key dance performances of the year, then here’s the chance to catch them again at the Charleroi-Danses Biennale 2013 from November 12 to 30. At the centre of the festival’s extremely rich programme is Sacre du Printemps (pictured). Numerous versions mark the 100th anniversary of  the original provocative work by Nijinsky. Choreographies by Thomas Hauert, Mossoux-Bonté, Mauro Paccagnella, Johanne Saunier, Olga De Soto, among others, and a tribute to Trisha Brown. Charleroi may be the hub, but there are performances in Brussels, Mons and Liège.

The Shakespearan tragedy King Lear has been a favourite since schooldays, so I couldn’t resist seeing this new version, L.E.A.R., in Namur before its run in the capital at Théâtre Varia from tomorrow (Friday) until November 16 (picture, 2). Based on the play’s first two acts, the first half is a joy. The abdicating king is transformed into an aging rock star surrounded by family and friends on a giant sofa. Their comic repartee is a perfect foil to Lear’s outrageous demands for declarations of love from his three daughters. But the ensuing storm on the heath scene marks a transition to a more contemporary interrogation on life, power and love that lacks the flow of the first part. By Cie De Facto, with staging by Antoine Laubin and Thomas Depryck (in French).

Flemish youth theatre Bronks stages a festival for children on Saturday and Sunday, Export/Import, that doesn’t require a too-demanding knowledge of Dutch. One of the highlights is Swallow Song (Zwaluw zang) by Theater Stap, a Flemish troupe made up of mentally disabled actors. Other shows on the programme include H20 by a German company and Gerrrrrrrda by the Brussels theatre company Endewolf.

There will another book signing of the English version of Philippe Geluck’s The Bible according to The Cat Le Méridien Hotel on November 12. The Belgian cartoonists, famous for his prodigious Cat series of comic albums, has finally produced an English-language version of his latest tome, which according to the press release is ‘God’s hilarious story – in his own words’. Geluck recently ended his 30-year cartoon series in francophone daily Le Soir, simultaneously publishing the book Peut-on rire de tout? (Can one laugh about everything?) and this latest album parodying religion. The resulting polemic on the limits of comedy, continue to rage.

Outside Brussels

It has a fine reputation, home and abroad, and is a highlight of the Autumn calendar. The Antica antique fair at Namur expo from November 9 to 17, is also a warm, glowing distraction from the darkening days outside. Stand after stand of beautiful, rich, sometimes ornate and richly-lit interiors are always an inspiration. This year, the theme is Women, another eternal inspiration…

Another reason to head out into the provinces this season is the major exhibition Andy Warhol, Life, death and beauty at BAM Mons, running until January 19. Around 100 works, rarely seen in Europe, show various aspects of Warhol’s artistic life, including his relationship with spirituality and religion. Produced by the Andy Warhol Museum of Pittsburgh, the event marks the re-opening of the BAM museum, ahead of the city’s European Capital of Culture in January 2015.