Everything must go

Since the introduction of the self-service checkout shoplifting has been on the rise. Dries Verhoeven used it as inspiration for Everything must go. Behind the innocent decision to slip that one piece of ginger unpaid into your bag appears to be a social change, a shift in what society considers right and permitted.

Verhoeven talked to people in various financial situations who occasionally ‘forget’ to pay, thieves in custody and those who consider theft as a way of resistance. He invited the proletarian shoppers (those who shop without paying as a way of resistance), self-proclaimed Robin Hoods to self-examination. The result is a stark depiction of the dark depths of our moral actions.

Everything must go is Verhoeven’s next installment in a series about irrational and indecent human beings. At Boulevard, he showed the haunted house Phobiarama (2017) which focused on fear. Verhoeven explored the growing interest in antidepressants, drug and sexual indulgence in Happiness (2019) and The NarcoSexuals (2022). The latter production was nominated for the VSCD Mimeprijs at the Nederlands Theaterfestival. His work Dear Beloved Friend received a Gouden Kalf at the Dutch Film Festival.

Good to know

• The performance is in English.
• The performance contains explicit nudity.
• You may decide how long you stay, the average amount of time is 60 minutes.