The performance All the Good speaks about loss and hope. It is a love story in the time when Europe is sacrificing values, and a large group of people are subject to hatred and intolerance. It is a story about a family of artists with everyday worries and ever-present death, which equally mercilessly intrudes both into the isolation of their home and the outside world.
In 2014 Jan Lauwers met the Israeli elite soldier and war veteran Elik Niv who, following a serious accident and a long rehabilitation process, became a professional dancer. They had long discussions about his military operations and his development as a dancer in the safely subsidised world of the living arts in Germany. It was during these conversations that the bombs exploded at Zaventem airport and Maalbeek metro station.
All the Good is a story with a double autobiographical background: Elik’s life on the one hand and Jan Lauwers’ with Grace Ellen Barkey and their children in their house, an old bakery and workplace in the infamous district of Molenbeek, on the other.
All the Good also tells the story of a young girl Romy, who is convinced that the world is good. During a trip through China, she meets the soldier Elik vomiting in an alleyway after drinking snake’s blood. This meeting changes her life.
All the Good is a story about loss and hope. A love story at a time in which Europe is sacrificing its values and many are succumbing to hatred and misunderstanding. The story of a family of artists with their everyday cares and ever-present death, which mercilessly imposes itself both in the intimacy of their home, as well as overcoming the outside world.
Jan Lauwers is the author of text, the scenographer and director of the play, whilst Maarten Seghers wrote the music.
