IFIF (Antwerp), 2026, performance, 90 minutes
IFIF is a secular group ritual structured as a game that weaves together chance, dance, and trance. Building on practices intended to sustain and nurture resilience, the work draws from an unique alchemy of hypnosis, tantra, dom/sub dynamics, emotional attunement, movement, writing, and theatrical experimentation. Participants navigate the delicate tensions between vulnerability and agency, harmony and dissonance, and individuality and collectivity while attempting to follow the game’s near-impossible rules. It was workshopped with a cast of young people from DEGASTEN, a group of hyper-diverse young actors and makers whose different backgrounds, ages, and levels inspire and reinforce one another. It was staged in the middle of the Antwerp Central Train Station.
IFIF (Antwerp)
By: Emily Mast
Sound: E.VAX
Featuring: DEGASTEN
Players: Evin Acar, Junior Appiah, Joshua Astiazarain Olivera, Ferlyne Braaf, Ernanda Brandt, Imani Heijmans, Sara Yuk Kalkhoven, Sifra Mercelina, Stevanio Talea, Anika Visser, Doris Wennekers
Costumes: Yusuf Şengül, Rutger Esajas, Meta Weyschede
Player supervision: Rutger Esajas, Adanma Okoro
Support & coordination: Mart Adriaan, Wilbert Slagboom
Production: De Brakke Grond, Platform 0090
Made possible by: Flemish Cultural Centre de Brakke Grond & Platform 0090
Photos & video: Alex Heuvink