Femke Arnouts - Wanda's Insomnia

One day Wanda discovers she has become invisible. When she reluctantly visits her doctor because no one seems to notice her anymore, she is told matter-of-factly that this is understandable given her age - and that she might as well accept it.

But Wanda resists. Is it liberation when you no longer have to meet external expectations, or does life feel empty when you are no longer anyone in relation to others?

"Wanda's Insomnia" is not a play about motherhood or menopause, but an absurdist, visual and affectionate story about the ageing woman who refuses to accept her invisibility. Women seem to slowly disappear from visual culture after their forties - and when they do appear, they are expected to look thirty. Why are there no leading roles for her? Why have we all decided that stories end just as adult life is beginning?

The production is a concept by Femke Arnouts, with Carly Wijs and Nanette Edens in the lead roles. Set design and lighting are by Marjolijn Brouwer. De Volkskrant previously wrote about Arnouts' work: "She displays a pleasant theatrical style here, with which she exposes the absurdity of human life amid a sober and physical quintessentially Dutch landscape." ★★★★★ (about "That Hole")