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What’s on this week: 31 October to 7 November
The final session of Bozar All Over the P(a)lace will be a night to remember. In a collaboration with AB, rock, fashion, and screen icon Kim Gordon makes some noise in the magnificent Henry Le Bouef Hall, where there’s seating and standing room available. Meanwhile, artist duo Eve Stainton and Florence Peaker unite visual arts and performance to explore the expression of queer bodies. This resonates perfectly with the arts centre’s outstanding exhibition Love is Louder, also on show for the occasion. Finally, versatile percussionist Valentina Magaletti showcases different rhythmic techniques and also provides an after-show. 31 October from 18.00, Rue Ravenstein 23
Still in search of a scare-fest for the eve of All Saints? Look no further than the Biggest Halloween Party at Brussels casino The Viage. A party atmosphere is guaranteed with explosive performances and dancing to DJ sets until the wee hours. Age 18 and up; tickets from €5. 31 October 22.00-4.00, Boulevard Anspach 30
While there are often film screenings during Belgian Pride, the big moment for LGBTQ+ cinema in the capital is Pink Screens, with more than 30 features and 70 shorts. A theme this year is aging as a queer person; what happens to our relationships, community, family, history and our own bodies? Highlights include All Shall Be Well (pictured), a superb look at a grieving partner without inheritance rights in Hong Kong, and Kobieta Z, the story of a gender transition over four decades amid Poland’s shifting – but always nationalistic – political landscape. 31 October to 9 November, across Brussels-City
The Botanique live music hub is warming up for brand new mini festival Les Nuits Weekender With 18 concerts lined up for each of the three evenings, it promises to be an intense and eclectic experience. The line-up includes various music genres, from the electro sounds of Sega Bodega to pop with Fabiana Palladino (pictured) and Tramhaus and Wu-Lu’s punk style. 1-3 November, Rue de la Regence 236 (Saint-Josse)
Find out why café culture is one of the best bits of living in the capital during the month-long Bruxelles sur Scènes 2024. For the eight edition, some 13 of the city’s best-loved venues stage an original programme with concerts, live comedy and performances, including a Tribute to Norah Jones at The Music Village on 3 November and The Sassy Cabaret – Freaks or not freaks (pictured) at L’Os à Moelle on 1 & 2 November. Buy your Pass online for €20, which enables you to enjoy a show in each one of the 13 participating venues. 1 to 30 November, theatres across Brussels city centre
Experience Mozart’s The Magic Flute – sorta, kinda – in Flûte!, a family-friendly version of one of the most famous operas ever written. This fun production by Brussels company Cie Artichoke is entertaining for both children and adults, getting everyone on their feet singing and dancing – and doing a bit of yoga. Your child might just end up conducting the orchestra. Flûte! is performed this week in Flagey before touring to Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve in December and elsewhere next year (in French). 3 November 14.30-15.30, Place Sainte-Croix (Ixelles)
From Anderlecht to Waha, ‘tiny house’ to holiday home, Ecobâtisseurs Open Doors is the perfect opportunity to find out how people are renovating their existing residences or building new homes. The emphasis in this annual, free, autumn event is on how to save energy and water or use recycled materials as much as possible. New techniques for insulation, heating and drainage are also key in the nearly 70 eco-friendly sites on show. The two-hour visits by the owners are in Dutch or French. Reserving a spot is simple, but hurry: many Brussels visits are already full. 1-3 and 10-11 November (visits 10-12.00 and 14-16.00), various locations in Brussels and Wallonia
Subtitled ‘Bastardly Yours’, the Bâtard Festival announces its final edition with a parting shot at showcasing emerging local and international artists. Hang on to your hats as you navigate this diverse programme of concerts, performances, activities and events all staged at Beursschoubug, except for the closing party hosted by Wallen, Rue de Rollebeek 13. 5-8 November, Rue August Orts 20-28
The Bridge theatre stages Radiant Vermin, an outrageous black comedy about a young couple who are offered a way out of the housing crisis, and the lengths to which they are willing to go for it. Written by Philip Ridley and directed by André Agius, the provocative satire features West End actors Matilda Tucker and Santino Smith, alongside TV-personality and Drag Queen Sederginne. 5-23 November, La Tricoterie, 158 Rue Théodore Verhaegen
Singles over 30 are invited to join the winter-themed party Soirée 30+: Coeur à Coeur fait du ski at The Yeti Winter Bar, with a Savoyard food truck in attendance. A six-hour DJ set will be playing chill-busting disco hits from the 80, 90s and 00s. 2 November from 19.00, Drève Olympic 11 (Anderlecht)
Book now Pieces of a Man – A father. A son. Some baggage. A tragicomic one-man show in which David Labi recounts the story of his late Holocaust-Survivor father, Marcello. A child prisoner in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, Marcello’s unresolved trauma fuelled a chaotic and colourful life that impacted heavily upon those closest to him. Photos, video clips and humorous anecdotes all raise questions of identity, trauma and masculinity. 15 November 20.00 (doors open 19.00), Bouche à l’Oreille, Rue Félix Hap 11 (Etterbeek)
OUTSIDE BRUSSELS
Singles are invited to join the themed musical night and party G+30 Halloween Live Show & Party with The Villains. The latter is an all-female line-up: high energy characters who always get the party started. A DJ dance evening follows amid a spooky atmosphere, complete with smoke effects. 18 and over. 31 October from 21.00 (doors open) to 5.00, Clos Lamartine 1A, Braine l’Alleud (Walloon Brabant)
This year’s edition of the Festival de l’Horreur at Théâtre de Namur dives into the world of strange things and experiences with a programme straddling theatre, magic and sulphurous cabaret. The festival for children from the age of four explores universes where marginality is firmly in the spotlight, while the theatre is dressed up for the occasion to immerse audiences in the atmosphere of the festival. 6-9 November, Place du Théâtre, Namur
Comedy films of all stripes feature in the Festival International du Film de Comédie de Liège (FIFCL). Stars of francophone cinema and entertainment descend on the Walloon city for the occasion. The programme for the ninth edition of the festival includes special events, talks, concerts and themed evenings. Guest of honour is actor Lambert Wilson, while Belgian actor Benoît Poelvoorde appears with director Stefan Liberski to present the Belgian premiere of their latest film L’Art d’Être Heureux. Audiences can also immerse themselves in Belgian humour at an evening dedicated to local cinema with five short films being screened on 7 November. The festival hub is a big top in Place Cathédrale Saint-Paul. 6-10 November, multiple locations around Liège
The city of Mons joins in the celebrations of the centenary of Surrealism with an exhibition exploring the movement’s history in Belgium through the prism of its relationships to society. Surrealism: Upsetting Reality at the Fine Arts Museum offers a wide panorama of paintings, writings, photographs and artefacts by more than 30 artists, from René Magritte and Marcel Marien to Max Ernst and Rachel Baes. Together they show how surrealism in Belgium was centred around the “overwhelming object” as both a rejection of the art norms of the day and a search its impact on reality Until 16 February, Rue Neuve 8, Mons
The term “Words fail me” is often used sarcastically, but sometimes we honestly don’t know what to say to express the enormity of a situation or the complexity of our feelings The exhibition Silent Times examines this amid its focus on the lack of representation – of voices – in the global contemporary art scene. Whether this is due to political pressure or silent protest, the group show offers us the chance to consider what is not being said and the power of silence. Until 30 March, Kunsthal Extra City, Provinciestraat 112, Antwerp
Series, movies and gaming come to life at Facts, Belgium’s largest comic con. Staged twice a year, this autumn edition showcases both video and board games, cosplay, superheroes, sci-fi and anime. There are loads of special guests, including consummate fantasy and horror actor John Noble (Star Trek: Prodigy, Sleepy Hollow, The Lord of the Rings) and Felicia Day (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Into the Dark, Supernatural). Don’t miss the Artist Alley or the Geek Market. 2-3 November, Flanders Expo, Maaltekouter 1, Ghent
Bruges’ cultural meccas become playgrounds for kids during Krikrak, the free family festival celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Besides interactive play activities, there are ongoing games, performances and workshops like making your own crown, learning the fine art of capoeira and decorating cupcakes. Special for this edition is the Krikrak silent disco. 2-3 November, across Bruges
The Next Festival is international in more ways than one, with nearly 30 dance and theatre productions spread over 15 French and Belgian cities and towns. It’s a real multidisciplinary and eclectic programme, from Wasted Land, a poetic choral performance on neocolonialism and ecology (pictured), to ClubINC, a whirlwind dance performance that swings to the tones of opera, techno and everything in between. 6-30 November, across the Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai Eurometropolis
There’s more seasonal fun in The Bulletin’s guide to Halloween and holiday activities.
Discover more upcoming events at The Bulletin’s events page.
Photos: (main image) Bozar ©Louise Mason; Pink Screens ©Strand Releasing; Fabiana Palladino ©Buster Grey Jung; Flûte! ©Nine Louvel; Surrealism exhibition Mons: Marcel-Louis Baugniet, René Magritte, 1967. Collection Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles ©Sabam Belgique 2024; Silent Times Basir Mahmood, photo by Lorenzo Palmieri; Next Festival ©Claudia Ndebe