Matters of monstrosity
What does monstrosity look like in everyday life?
Who or what do we actually call a monster? And who decides that? Which systems, technologies, and narratives position certain people as less human and fundamentally different? This is called “othering”: drawing a line that pushes some outside the boundary of “us.” Many of these ideas stem from structures and beliefs that have been passed down through generations.
In her work, theatre maker Cherish Menzo explores what happens when we do not treat the monster as a fictional trope—a mirror for human fears, social anxieties, and taboo desires—but instead examine the systems that determine who is labelled as deviant.
This programme in collaboration with IMPAKT shows that the monstrous is not only something from myths or films, but is also built into our society. An evening that invites us to remember, redefine and perhaps even reimagine the monstrous, and ourselves.
This programme is connected to FRANK, a performance by Cherish Menzo, which is currently touring in Netherlands.
FRANK is the final part of a trilogy. The trilogy does not tell one story in order, and it is not about a series of events. Instead, it is more like three different spaces or worlds. These worlds include different ideas, stories, and conversations about Blackness. The work puts the Black body at the center and explores the many sides of the African Diaspora in recognizable, metaphorical, and abstract ways.