Kommer (Grief)

In this delicately framed portrait of human isolation, the Dutch theater company Kassys suggests both the mundane and the transcendent. Several people gather, presumably at a funeral. They speak in sparse dialogue, fiddle with flower arrangements, idly change pop tunes on a boom box. Stark and understated, hilarious and enigmatic, Kommer (Grief) is full of surprises. A startling film component adds a layer of complexity to the deceptively simple drama, compounding illusion and posing existential questions.

Original, profound and self-referential, “Kassys is known for this sharp balance between fantasy and reality…despite all this grief, you’ll leave the theatre in high spirits” (Brabants Dagblad). On its first North American tour, the company is a must for lovers of independent film or contemporary theater.