Schemerland

10+

For everyone aged this and above.

Contains (quite a lot to a lot of) text. It is essential to understand the language.

KOPERGIETERY & Pleegzorg Oost-Vlaanderen

Do you know who the best mums are in the whole animal kingdom?
Elephants.
A baby elephant spends almost two years in its mum’s tummy.
It has two years to grow.
Just grow. Without having to do anything.
Without having to worry about whether it’ll get food.
What it will all have to learn. Which family it will end up in. It is simply allowed to grow.
I came out of my mum’s tummy after just 7 months.

‘Schemerland’, a performance with young people about how finding a home can sometimes take a lifetime.
About how a home without a house can provide warmth.
About the right to have many mums and dads.
About the injustice of not being allowed to see them whenever you want.
About the quest to be acknowledged and recognised for who you are.

In ‘Schemerland’, young people from Pleegzorg Oost-Vlaanderen and workshop participants from Kopergietery are given a voice to bring their authentic stories to the stage, directed by theatre maker Axelle Verkempinck, who is also the coordinator of our workshops.

A heart-warming performance... This youth production, created in collaboration with Pleegzorg Vlaanderen, captures such essential truths about growing up and parenthood that you’d even trade your own mother for it. ‘Schemerland’ shines and sparkles like a rough diamond.” PZAZZ, W. Hillaert

****Then the magic begins. Gradually, the director and the actors manage to draw you completely into their story... After the standing ovation at the premiere of ‘Schemerland’, the audience remained seated, momentarily speechless at what theatre can achieve: teaching traumatised children to play again.” KNACK, E. Van Steenberghe

Dates in Ghent

Thu 19.11.26 — 10:00

KG Rabot

Thu 19.11.26 — 14:00

KG Rabot

Fri 20.11.26 — 20:00

Kopergietery Rabot

Sat 21.11.26 — 20:00

Kopergietery Rabot

Tour dates

Tue 06.10.26 — 14:00

CC de Brouckere, Torhout

Aartrijkestraat 6
8820 Torhout

050 22 11 50

show all playdates

Practical

duration: 70 min.

Credits

CONCEPT & CREATION:

Axelle Verkempinck & Karla Haezebrouck

PLAY & CREATION:

Atiqullah Abdulrauf, Sem Buysse, Dieuwke Demeyere, Prieel De Lathouwer, Skye Donnelly, Madou Hindryckx/Thor Vermeulen, Tülay Kartal, Otis Mels, Mona Wybaillie

DIRECTOR:

Axelle Verkempinck

CREATIVE THERAPIST:

Karla Haezebrouck (Pleegzorg Oost-Vlaanderen)

COSTUMES:

Valerie Le Roy

SCENOGRAPHY:

Wim Piqueur

MUSIC:

Jo Thielemans

LIGHT:

Jeroen Doise

PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT:

Maaike Scheltjens

PRODUCTION:

KOPERGIETERY, KGbe & Pleegzorg Oost-Vlaanderen

WITH THE SUPPORT OF:

the Flemish Government, the city of Ghent and the Tax Shelter measurement of the Belgian Federal Government via partner Flanders tax shelter

ABOUT THE MAKER

Axelle Verkempinck is an actress and theatre maker. She studied acting at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp, theatre directing and writing at RITCS, and also obtained a Master’s degree in Performing Arts Education. Key themes in her artistic work include inclusivity, female identity and giving a voice to the voiceless. She has worked for, amongst others, the participatory theatre collective Magma (Antigone Kortrijk), the socio-artistic company Cie Tartaren and Theater Babel Rotterdam. As a drama teacher, Axelle has been associated on several occasions with the theatre workshops at KOPERGIETERY, where she has been responsible for artistic coordination alongside Hendrik Lebon since 2024. For KOPERGIETERY, she created her version of the Greek tragedy ‘Iphigenia in Aulis’ in 2024 (All Greeks Festival/NTGent). This was followed in 2025 by the acclaimed youth productions ‘Schemerland’ and 'KUDDES' (2026).