Regarde maman, je danse

A Formica table and two chairs: the understated, intimate space of a corner of the stage transformed into a minimalist kitchen. The ideally simple setting chosen by director Frank Van Laecke to bring to life the intimate revelations of an extraordinary woman: actress Vanessa Van Durme. Wearing a pink silk dressing gown and barefoot, she welcomes us from the stage to tell us her story—the story of the first transsexual in the city of Ghent. It is the epic tale of a reinvented Madonna and the many obstacles along a personal road to Calvary, culminating in the liberation of a soul imprisoned in a body that could only ever truly exist as a woman’s. Through this monologue, in which she speaks with astonishing candour about her gender transition, she hopes to break down the audience’s prejudices and show them that people who are different are also… people.