Ghost Writer and the Broken Hand Break

This musical and physical journey moves between meditation and euphoria. Words dissolve into beats, movements intensify into trance. Motion rushes forward without brakes, driven only by repetition, exhaustion, and at the same time, liberation. Three performers spin endlessly in a hypnotic choreographic concert. Three bodies defy gravity, three dervishes reach for the stars, vibrating in unison with the galaxy that surrounds us. Speed and stillness, control and strain, percussion and resonance—both intrusive and mesmerizing. Here, Warlop works with motifs of faith, decay, cyclicality, and the longing for transcendence. The renowned Belgian director and visual artist has revived this singular concert ritual, dedicating it to the 30th anniversary of the 4+4 Days in Motion festival.

“In transition. Vibrations with the tiniest detail in the galaxy. There is no need to add any framework, only gravity. I surrender to its pull, attaching one hand to the heavens and the other to the earth. My vocal cords will tremble, yet I remain calm. Boundlessness will manifest. Without interrupting the movement, I begin to sing the songs we wrote about questions of life, death, and transformations of form. Beside me, three bodies spin around their axes at different speeds. They inhabit various futures and pasts, producing sounds with their instruments and voices, all synchronized with their feet. When it is time to stop, we look at our own palms and break the spell of endless transformation. Truth is always somewhere there.” – Miet Warlop

Miet Warlop is a Belgian visual artist and theater maker who operates at the intersection of visual art, physical theater, and performance. She studied visual arts at KASK in Ghent, where she began developing her distinctive language—playful, surreal, and physically intense. Her work strongly emphasizes objects, rhythm, and visual imagery, often transforming the stage into a living installation where performers become integral parts of the overall artistic concept. Her career breakthrough came with the piece Sportband / Afgetrainde Klanken (2005), which oscillated between concert, sports show, and absurd ritual. Other major works include Springville (2009), where characters and objects come alive in a surreal world, Mystery Magnet (2012), combining bursts of color, sculptures, bodies, and humor, and Fruits of Labor (2016), exploring human effort and repetition. Her most powerful work to date, One Song (2022), is a concert marathon in which performers repeat a single song endlessly while running, falling, and getting back up—serving as a metaphor for endurance, collective strength, and the absurdity of human striving.

Miet Warlop regularly presents her works at leading European festivals such as Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Festival d’Avignon, and Wiener Festwochen. Her work is radical yet accessible, combining physical commitment, striking imagery and emotion, music, and absurd humor.

“Every so often, you can experience a performance that evokes a sense of uniqueness often missed by many. Ghost Writer and the Broken Hand Break by Miet Warlop is one of those anomalies. Experiencing this performance ignites something within you that quickens your pulse—because you are not just a spectator, but also an active participant in its creation.”

Evelyne Coussens – De Theaterkrant.nl (2018)

Duration: 45 min
No language barrier

Concept: Miet Warlop
Music and performance: Pieter De Meester, Wietse Tanghe, Miet Warlop
Lyrics: Raimundas Malasauskas, Miet Warlop, Pieter De Meester
Production Manager: Seppe Cosyns
Sound Engineer: Bart Van Hoydonck
Light Design: Henri Emmanuel Doublier
Costumes: Karolien Nuyttens
Produced by: Miet Warlop /Irene Wool vzw & NTGent
Co-produced by: Arts Centre Vooruit Gent, HAU Hebbel am Ufer – Berlin (DE)
Thanks to: Carl Gydé, Jérôme Dupraz, Ian Gyselinck, Michiel Goedertier (LaRoy NV), Janis Van Heesbeke (ongezien), Maarten Van Cauwenberghe, Brahim Benhaddou
With the support of: City of Ghent, Actoral. 17 Marseille (FR)