Ferre Marnef, Agressively Modern Times © Lieselotte De Keyzer
Aggressively Modern Times
“A story of industry of individual enterprise – humanity crusading in the pursuit of happiness”.
(opening placard Modern Times)
What if Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times were made today? Not in a factory, but in the arts sector. Together with Femke Gyselinck, Maya Mertens (Vieze Meisje), Jeroen van Der Ven and Lawrence McGuire (Hogobogobogo), Ferre Marnef explores what work means within today’s flexible labour model of the freelancer. The performance blows apart the glossy façades of the entrepreneurs of the self in an attempt to get to grips with its own character.
Aggressively Modern Times brings sound and image together. It is both a concert and a theatre performance, while secretly wanting to be neither. This visual and sonic collage drags the artist-as-brand onto the stage, only to make a soft-punk escape from the Rules of Art.
Ferre Marnef is a theatre-making graphic designer who makes music.
Ferre Marnef is a graphic designer who makes music and theatre.
Ferre Marnef is a musician who works in theatre and design.
For ten years, within his own theatre collective Desnor, he worked with Louis Janssens on a shared portrait of our times and of how the world does — and does not — work. Supported and guided by, among others, CAMPO and detheatermaker, they created the performances Ideale Plaats (Jong Werk TAZ 2013), #BOS (Jong Werk TAZ 2014), Galileo (2017) and Toverberg (2019).
Alongside Desnor, he works as an actor and has collaborated closely with the theatre company tibaldus, including on the complete Gombrowicz trilogy (2016–2023) and Gekken & Specialisten (2020).
He has also worked in a wide range of roles — actor, musician, graphic designer, scenographer and more — with, among others, Ontroerend Goed, Danaï Anesadiou, Sophia & Marieke, buren, Ilan Manouach, TOESTAND, Bauke Lievens, Anouk Friedli, FroeFroe and Miet Warlop.
After playing in established bands such as Soldier’s Heart and Glints, he now focuses musically on his own experimental band Sergeant. Together with Benjamin Cools and Geraldine Vanspauwen, Sergeant composes its sampled self with scissors and flutes, somewhere on the edge of pop music. Their debut album was released in 2023 on the internationally renowned label STROOM. Their second album, Symbols, was released in May 2026.
Alongside Sergeant, he plays in looser projects such as 5th of July (with Roman Hiele and Victoria Palacios) and De Nooit Moede (with, among others, Victor De Roo and Jente Waerzeggers).
Credits
by/with Femke Gyselinck, Ferre Marnef, Lawrence McGuire, Maya Mertens & Jeroen Van der Ven dramaturgy Marie Peeters production Sergeant co-production KWP & VGC thanks to Mooni van Tichel, a e i o u, CAMPO, KVS, A Two Dogs Company & Pilar
- Sat 21 Nov
- 19:30 - 20:45
Location
Price
€16 / €11 / €8
Additional info
Language: English