Binta is a rebellious girl. She lives in a children’s home and waits with her friend Youri for a visit from her mother. Binta has a secret inner room where stories, aromas and objects are stowed away in drawers. It’s visiting hour, so you are welcome to step into her world.

What’s it like not living with your parents? What’s it like having to share new lodgings with other children? Why do some parents have to (temporarily) hand over the care of their children to others? How do children deal with feelings of absence? Binta’s inner room is a sensory show brimming over with music, humour and stories that are both moving and engrossing.

Aminata Demba is a young theatre-maker and performer, known (among other things) for the extraordinary production Dis-moi wie ik ben (Dis-moi who I am) and the documentary Pelikaanstraat 20. She has performed with the KVS, Arsenaal/Lazarus, HZT, NTGent, De Maan, Toneelhuis and Laika. As a creative, she is fascinated by the relationship between parent and child in extreme situations. For Binta’s inner room she drew inspiration from conversations with care experts as well as with children and adults who have experienced separation.

Based on this material, Hanneke Paauwe wrote a highly imaginative story packed with role swaps, humour and relativization. Gruesome, comforting and exciting. Laika has turned Binta’s inner room into an intimate sensory experience in an unusual space: a closed construction with nooks and drawers both on the inside and the outside, containing objects and aromas from the stories of Binta and other children. Inside the installation, Aminata and her opposite number Sam Gysel – who performs with (among others) Zita Swoon and has written the music for productions by NTGent, KVS and Antigone – takes you on a musical journey that explores absence and resilience