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What purpose do our labouring bodies serve these days? Asparagus growers replace their Dutch labour force with labour people from Eastern Europe. Tech giants employ algorithms to find the biggest possible profit margins 24/7. Jobs are taken over by robots and various forms of AI. Do we still serve any purpose? Will there be a revival of the labour movement, or is the best thing for us to accept the inevitable computerisation?

In his latest work, Dries Verhoeven shows us humans as stowaways inside an enormous distribution centre. Working with Bulgarian performers with experience as labour migrants he creates a requiem for the labouring human body.  The stage of the Stadsschouwburg serves as a shop floor that is home to a live installation for eight hours a day.

The performers will stay at art institute West Den Haag (The Hague) where an exhibition will be presented regarding this work from May 26. The exhibition includes a documentary about the realization of this work in Sofia, Bulgaria, and video portraits that give an insight into the thinking of the performers.