Outsider16+
Batty or visionary?

"Goddamnit, I don’t know what to say... Is there any point in saying anything?"

a cabin in the forest
far from everything and everyone
a man recounts, sings, dances, laughs
rants, argues, provokes
about the people destroying nature
about the isolation he is forced to embrace
about the alienation we call technology
and the endless shouting on social media
about his longing for a real world
the audience turns jury
listens, empathizes, feels disgust, judges
or not

In this monologue written by Michael Bijnens at the request of Laika, Frank Dierens steps into the shoes of Ted Kaczynski, one of the most infamous and most wanted terrorists ever, better known as the Unabomber. The 81-year-old Kaczynski died in a high-security jail in North Carolina (US) on 10 June 2023.

In Outsider he takes the spectator inside his mind as he makes a passionate plea in his defence. We are given a glimpse of his dreams, motives and demons, his yearnings and frustrations and his visionary genius... or is it brilliant insanity?

“How can someone be that far gone?”, we wonder. But for Ted it is all very logical…

How did you like Outsider? Leave us your comments!
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Laika COPRODUCED WITH Perpodium WITH THE SUPPORT OF the Flemish Community and the Federal Belgian Government's Tax Shelter scheme  |  SCRIPT Michael Bijnens CAST Frank Dierens DIRECTED BY Jo Roets SET Peter De Bie DRAMATURGY Mieke Versyp SOUNDSCAPE Steven Prengels COSTUMES Marie Dries CHOREOGRAPHY Iris Bouche TECHNICIANS, PRODUCTION AND REALISATION Robin Angst, Tim van der Linden, Rik Van Gysegem, Anton Van Haver and Pieter Smet
Tour dates
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September 2022
Antwerpen
De Studio
Blikfabriek (op locatie) 03 202 46 46
Tu20/0910:00, 13:30
We21/0910:00
Th22/0910:00, 13:30
Fr23/0919:00 Premiere
Sa24/0919:00
Eeklo
CC De Herbakker
pop-uptheater 09 218 27 27
Tu27/0910:00, 13:45
We28/0910:00
Th29/0910:00, 13:45
July 2023
Oostende
Mo31/0719:30
August 2023
Oostende
Tu01/0815:00, 19:30
Heerlen
Cultura Nova +31 (0)45 5716607
Sa26/0815:00, 19:00
Su27/0815:00, 19:00
September 2023
Roeselare
Cultuurcentrum De Spil
op locatie: Park Vandewalle 051 265 700
Th21/0920:00
Fr22/0910:00, 13:30
Genk
Th28/0913:30
May 2024
Kortrijk
Schouwburg Kortrijk
tuin Fatimaklooster 056 23 98 55
We29/0520:15
Th30/0520:15
Press
03/08/2023
"Dierens focuses on the terrorist’s inner life: his brain, dreams, frustrations, his social isolation and criminal argumentation. How do you justify terror? [...] There is a clever twist towards the end when the spectators are addressed as part of the jury in the legal case brought against him. It’s a good idea for a production intended for young people aged 16 and over. As a member of the audience, you almost come to understand his strange outlook on life and heinous deeds. Rather than showing what the bombs do, ‘Outsider’ concentrates on the deep, personal loneliness expressed in Kaczynski’s manifesto and in his attacks."
03/08/2023
"The performance is compelling and makes you think. About the fate of Ted (Kaczynski), about his radicalisation, and certainly about his prophecies. What has already come true? What is our destiny? And shouldn't we confront it?"
Poster