BOY Will Be Performed at Opera Ballet Vlaanderen in September

Opera Ballet Vlaanderen presents BOY, beginning this September.

It is an ordinary school day for ten-year-old Boy when the police come and take him out of class. He is no longer allowed to go home because he lives in a 'situation of concern'. That is the first of an avalanche of legal, medical and emotional arguments. The spectator witnesses a brooding montage of events large and small that will determine Boy's fate.

The case of Boy is fictional but based on countless truths. Theatre artist Kyoko Scholiers spent months delving deeply into the world of child welfare. She interviewed juvenile court judges, consultants, foster parents, child psychiatrists, teachers, adult former recipients of youth services, children living in institutions and their parents. She attended hearings and worked as a volunteer in a foster care institution.

What kind of impact does it have on a person to grow up without the bedrock of the family as safe haven? What are the limits of loyalty towards the parents? And can you escape your own origins? Scholiers portrays an urgently relevant reality in an original music theatre performance with a surefooted cast. Joris Blanckaert has written an exceptional composition that will be performed live by the Opera Ballet Vlaanderen Children's Chorus and HERMESensemble.

Performances will run 9 September 2021 - 23 May 2022.

Learn more at https://operaballet.be/en/programme/2021-2022/boy