Alain Platel, Fabrizio Cassol, Rodriguez Vangama, Serge Kakudji

Coup Fatal features Congolese countertenor Serge Kakudji, with an orchestra of 12 musicians from Kinshasa - engaging with the repertoire of various baroque composers. This new music integrates baroque phrases with traditional and popular Congolese music, rock and jazz.

Composer Fabrizio Cassol and musician Rodriguez Vangama are the musical directors, while director Alain Platel and dancer Romain Guion seek to give the piece its theatrical form. The set is designed in collaboration with the artist Freddy Tsimba, who creates vast, disturbing sculptures using cartridge cases which he collects in Congolese war zones.

Coup Fatal is inspired by the grand gestures of the rakish ‘sapeurs’, followers of SAPE (Société des Ambianceurs et Personnes Elégantes). A group found in Kinshasa, sapeurs embrace designer fashion labels and trends, incorporating unusual and individual accessories.

An artistic platform for a variety of choreographers, les ballets C de la B enables artists from various disciplines and backgrounds to take part in the creative process, upholding its motto: ‘this dance is for the world and the world is for everyone’. KVS is a city theatre in Brussels. Working in a diverse city, it incorporates the topics of poverty and exclusion into its programming, as well as colonial history.