In her new solo performance LIJF! (BODY!), oboist and performer Kayva van Gangelen transforms the female body into an instrument of sound and memory. Through interaction with an ingeniously designed costume equipped with built-in wireless speakers and sensors that respond to movement and touch, she brings physical sensations and memories to life. The result is a musical, poetic and technically refined performance that lets the body speak where words fall short. The performance touches on themes such as bodily autonomy, the experience of being observed, and the traces of unwanted touch.

The young woman enters the stage with her musical instrument, the oboe. A long coat with many pockets envelops her body like armor. In the middle of a concert featuring compositions for oboe and electronics, a coat pocket begins to interfere with the performance. The pockets want to be opened, it is her body demanding attention! In each pocket of the coat lies the sonified memory of the place on the body beneath it. And as the woman opens more pockets, she gains access to what is stored in her body. A hidden story about an unwanted intrusion. Only when the woman listens to her body, and its sounds merge with her music, can the adult Kayva reconcile with the girl she once was.

The performance was created in collaboration with director Marijn van der Jagt (Bambie), composer Bec Plexus (No Plexus), sound artist/inventor Akim Moiseenkov, and theater designers Catharina Scholten and Sanne Lips. The interactive sound system was developed in close collaboration with Fedde ten Berge, who designed the technical system and software, and with Okke van Breemen who developed the 3D housing. The knowledge for this system largely emerged from Ten Berge’s earlier research for a project with Fedde & de Carvalho.

Kayva van Gangelen and Akim Moiseenkov form the music theater collective Perforator. In their previous performances Performania (2019) and Als je weet waarom een vis praat (2022), Perforator delighted audiences with an original, sparkling combination of acoustic music, interactive electronics and sound objects. In the solo performance LIJF!, Kayva van Gangelen brings together her background as a classical oboist with cutting-edge technology and an ode to feminine strength.

Kayva van Gangelen | concept, text, performance
Marijn van der Jagt | direction
Bec Plexus | composition, audio production, live effects

Akim Moiseenkov | composition contributions, light object design

Catharina Scholten | set design

Sanne Lips | costume

Fedde ten Berge | technology, system development, wearable design

Okke van Breemen | 3D electronics housing design, assembly

Michelle Vossen | textile sensor design

Tineke Hussaarts | voice recording Lijf FM

Glenn Liebaut | marimba recording

Jurre Wieman | sound design

Jan Boiten | lighting design

Made possible in part by: Fonds Podiumkunsten, Cultuurfonds, Stichting Sec, Stichting Zabawas, Van den Berch van Heemstede Stichting, Theater Het Pakhuis Hoorn, Gemeente Hoorn, Voordekunst.