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FRANK

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FRANK

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In “FRANK”, Cherish Menzo explores the monster as a mirror of societal fears and desires. Blurring the lines between ritual, horror, carnival and decay, a physical performance emerges, characterised by distortion and resistance – a dance in a world spiralling out of control.“We are in an alien world. Only awkward movement is possible.” (Bayo Akomolafe)Choreographer Cherish Menzo examines the figure of the monster in “FRANK” —short for Frankenstein. More than (re)producing a physical or visual portrayal of the monster, she is researching the monstrous as an embodiment of beliefs and narratives that terrify and horrify, and yet also attract us. Distortion is a choreographic leitmotif used to generate movement material and as a tool to devour the dance and loosen its structure. Cherish Menzo investigates the action of decay and how something gradually breaking down and becoming less or worse can affect one’s gestures.The performance space fabulates on the Baka Gorong, a place located at the back of the former plantations and in front of the wetlands, where enslaved people in South American Suriname secretly went to carry out Winti rituals – demonized under Dutch colonial rule – and to consider fleeing.Cherish Menzo is joined by Omagbitse Omagbemi, Mulunesh and Malick Cissé – artists from different generations. Together they construct a performance between the ritual, the apocalypse, and the carnival, where narrated identities are challenged, where flesh can deviate and be corrupted until it bursts and becomes unbearable. The dancers express their standing in the world with incoherent, broken-down movement in a scenery that collapses around them. In an increasingly unstable world of hiccups and unlikely events, often gruesome and violent, we are reminded of early horror movies and this eerie feeling, the flicker in the dark.If we can understand the monster, won’t we also understand the people who invented it? In their respective times and narratives, historical eras and social constructions?All performance texts, (audio-)visual material, and more infos about “FRANK” in English, French and Dutch can be found on this website: enterfrank

Press reviews:“Cherish Menzo has breathed new life into the world of dance in recent years. Her production FRANK, the final instalment of a trilogy exploring the Black body and colonial legacy, is a physical exploration of the monstrous.” Het Parool (2025)“Menzo’s courage makes her reimaginings of rituals, access, complicity and freedom irresistible.” Theaterkrant on FRANK (2025)“Menzo is a bold performer, she’s got nerve, she’s got a very still steeliness about her and she’s got important things to say.” Lyndsey Winship, The Guardian (2022)“Although Menzo’s works are decidedly political, they seem to take a different route to politics than more conventional activist performance. By “stretching the notions of time,” Menzo aims to “generate new readings” for the black body.” Jonas Rutgeerts, The Drama Review (2025)

Artists/Collaborators: Cherish Menzo (Konzept & Regie), Cherish Menzo (Performance), Malick Cissé (Performance), Mulunesh (Performance), Omagbitse Omagbemi (Performance), Maria Muehombo a.k.a M I M I (Sounddesign), Andrea Casetti (Video), Arthur De Vuyst (Ton- und Videotechnik), Morgana Machado Marques (Bühnenbild), Ryoya Fudetani (Licht), Johanne Affricot (Dramaturgie), Renée Copraij (Dramaturgie), Cherish Menzo (Kostüm), Khadija El Kharraz Alami (Text), Cherish Menzo (Text), Khadija El Kharraz Alami (Künstlerischer Rat), Nicole Geertruida (Künstlerischer Rat), Pieter-Jan Buelens (Technik), Arthur De Vuyst (Technik), Ryoya Fudetani (Technik), Hadrien Jeangette (Technik), Nick Mattan (Grafikdesign)

This performance uses strobe lights and fog. There are sections with loud music; earplugs are available free of charge at the coat check. The themes of death and colonialism are addressed.

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