HARDKOOR

An unmarried mother and artist retreats from public life for a year prior to her fortieth birthday. From the standstill of her burnout, she battles against the pressure of time, against the images she tries to escape by conforming or not, and against her excessive self-awareness and self-criticism. Through a personal struggle in language, music, and movement, she paves her way to a shameless existence, where the never-ending search for validation gives way to radical self-love and a not-so-boring balance.

According to Velissariou, a burnout is not a work-related condition but a disease of the entire system, both physically, mentally, and spiritually. Under the motto "never waste a good crisis," she completes the last part of her rehabilitation process in the presence of the audience. At a pace allowed by her body at that moment, she confronts the personal and societal blind spots that brought her to this state: her insecurity as a single mother, the pressure of social media, the disturbed relationship with her body, the cult of growth and self-improvement, the bullshitization of our working life, the commercialization of care, the bankruptcy of the family as the foundation of society, and the constant overstimulation of our brain due to our contemporary way of life.

Velissariou's harsh language, aiming to shatter suffocating human images in a fluent combination of English and Dutch, is interlaced with the mind-bending sound design of Joost Maaskant and Frank Wienk (Binkbeats) in HARDKOOR. Velissariou previously formed the duo PERMANENT DESTRUCTION with Maaskant. Producer Frank Wienk translates their sound into a composition for HARDKOOR that explores the boundaries between acoustic and electronic music. This composition is performed by drummer Jens Bouttery, the Netherlands Chamber Choir in collaboration with NKK NXT alumni. The entire production takes place in a set described by designer Boris Acket as a "brutalist techno temple": a modular installation of light and sound technology, with a special role for the voices of the choir. The costumes consist of high fashion loungewear designed by MAISON the FAUX.

HARDKOOR is a co-production between the Netherlands Chamber Choir and NKK NXT alumni, and Theater Utrecht, by invitation of the Netherlands Chamber Choir.