Program - 17 OCT 2026
Praktische Info
@ Casa Saga, Antwerp
Timetable 1
14.30 Doors
15.00 Performance
Timetable 2
19.30 Doors
20.00 Performance
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Sleeping Together
Antwerp, 2126.
In a world where nothing is ever forgotten, where technology is taking over our lives and control is slowly slipping from our grasp, four young people tell their story. They try to hold on to their memories, their freedom and each other, whilst the city slowly disappears beneath the water.
A musical theatre production about the future and about the question that is already beginning to press upon us today: what does it still mean to be human?
Praktische Info
@ Madam Fortuna, Antwerp
Timetable 1
14.30 Doors
15.00 Performance
Timetable 2
19.30 Doors
20.00 Performance
Get your tickets below!
SCREAM!
“SCREAM!” is an absurd and abstract music-theatre production that questions (future) society. How does the new generation view the future? What does artificial intelligence (AI) mean for our society, and how do we deal with it? What concerns and challenges keep this generation awake at night?
Under the guidance of Tom Van Landuyt, Finn, Marieke and Arno have blended their own songs, repertoires, monologues and music videos into a powerful whole: a cry to the world.
“SCREAM!” is the GIP production by the 6th-year Music-Word class at De!Kunsthumaniora (2025–2026). Thanks to the Metropolis Festival, they have the opportunity to restage this production and reach a new audience.
Program - 18 OCT 2026
Create Your/Our Future: Final
Curious about the young artists shaping the future? On Sunday 18 October, you’ll find the answer at De Studio, where the grand final of Create Your / Our Future categories 'Music' and 'Spoken Word' will take place, the talent show organised by Metropolis festival that will have the whole of Antwerp in its grip from 16 to 25 October 2026. After gaining their first taste of the competition in preliminary rounds held at various venues across the city, the young people now have the chance to win professional opportunities such as a slot as the support act at the Roma or a performance at the Spooken festival organised by Vonk & Zonen.
You’re very welcome!
Sunday 18 October, 2pm, @ De Studio
A big thanks to our partners: Madam Fortuna, De Studio, Muziektheater Transparant, Arenberg, De Roma, Kavka Oudaen, De Kern, BLOC2030 and Gravenhof Hoboken.
Program - 19 & 20 OCT 2026
19 October: Metropolis Academy Day 1
What will the city of tomorrow look like? On Monday 19 October, as part of Metropolis, we’ll be opening Arenberg’s doors to secondary schools. Through engaging discussions and hands-on workshops, young people will be introduced to new ways of seeing, thinking and creating. They will discover how art and technology reinforce each other, how creators are already working today on the questions of tomorrow, and above all: how they themselves can give voice to their vision of the future.
An inspiring, accessible day that fits within the curriculum and brings pupils into contact with the creative sector in an active, stimulating way.
Interested in taking part with your classes? Email us at metropolis@madamfortuna.be !
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20 October: Metropolis Academy Day 2
On Tuesday 20 October, Metropolis turns its attention to higher education. A day on which students engage in dialogue with artists, technologists and innovators about the big questions of today and tomorrow: how is art evolving in times of technological change? What role do young creators play in shaping the future?
With a programme of thought-provoking discussions and in-depth workshops, this day offers students the chance not just to be spectators, but to actively contribute their ideas and help shape the future. It is a moment of reflection, connection and inspiration where academic insights, artistic practice and visions of the future come together.
Ideal for students from a wide range of disciplines who wish to broaden their horizons and be inspired by what is happening at the intersection of art, technology and the future.
Program - 22 OCT 2026
Practical Info
@ Arenberg Theatre, Antwerp
19.00 Doors
21.15 Performance
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WHAT WILL YOUR CITY OF THE FUTURE LOOK LIKE?
“Young people shape the city.” That is the message resounding throughout our society. But what will that city look like in, say, 100 years’ time? Muziektheater Transparant and DE SINGEL are taking the next generation of young creators on a journey to the city of tomorrow. In doing so, they project the futuristic cityscape from the film *Metropolis* onto their own surroundings. This iconic 1927 science fiction film by Fritz Lang is set in the year 2026. Now it is up to these young people to think for themselves about their city of the future. What do you see, hear and feel in the streets? Who lives there? And is it even liveable anymore? Drawing on their own ideas and visions of the future, they have crafted a performance that brings together music, singing, dance, spoken word, theatre and other art forms (you name it).
PRE-SHOW: CATWALK 2026
Catwalk 2026 is a project in which young people work creatively together on sustainability and the future. It shows that materials which are often thrown away can be given a new lease of life and are worth more than you might think.
This theme is brought to life in a spectacular musical dance performance that blends a futuristic world with recycling. In this way, Catwalk 2026 shows that the future begins with the choices we make today.
Catwalk 2026 is a collaboration between Hannes De Kinder, Madam Fortuna and Muziektheater Transparant
Program - 23 OCT 2026
Practical Information
@ Arenberg Theatre, Antwerp
Timetable 1:
18.00 Doors
19.00 Performance series
Timetable 2:
20.00 Doors open
21.00 Performance series
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In Search of Fritz Lang
One ticket, four short performances in succession! Join a psychedelic procession that makes stops at various emerging artists. A glimpse into the future as envisioned by filmmaker Fritz Lang (Metropolis), seen through the eyes of today’s young people.
BLINDMAN & KRAS BERCHEM
As part of this programme, BL!NDMAN is creating a short musical performance with vulnerable young people from the KRAS Berchem youth programme. The young people are experimenting with describing and exploring vulnerable emotions, such as fear and anger, which they feel in response to the current state of the world and their perceptions of their future plans. These emotions are then transformed into an auditory experience. Using a variety of percussion instruments and technology accessible via smartphones, they learn to experiment with sound and music, channelling their emotions into a musical narrative.
A creation by BL!NDMAN in collaboration with KRAS Berchem.
CATWALK 2026
Catwalk 2026 is a project in which young people work creatively together on sustainability and the future. It demonstrates that materials which are often thrown away can be given a new lease of life and are worth more than you might think.
This theme is brought to life in a spectacular musical dance performance that brings together a futuristic world and recycling. In this way, Catwalk 2026 shows that the future begins with the choices we make today.
Catwalk 2026 is a collaboration between Hannes De Kinder, Madam Fortuna and Muziektheater Transparant.
HUIDHONGER
How do bodies reconnect in an age when physical closeness is no longer a given? This question lies at the heart of HUIDHONGER, a multidisciplinary dance performance.
HUIDHONGER takes its cue from a familiar contemporary phenomenon: the lack of physical touch that many people experience today. Through conductive, technological garments, the performers’ physical contact is translated into light and sound. The garments respond not only to the touch itself, but also to the intention behind it. A gentle touch produces a subtle sound; a firm grip distorts the tone. The body thus becomes an instrument on which intimacy becomes visible and audible, but above all, tangible…
The performance is a creation by sisters Lola and Kika Ilegems, in co-production with the theatre company Tutti Fratelli and performers from their social-artistic initiative. For Metropolis, HUIDHONGER has been adapted into a compact twenty-minute version. HUIDHONGER explores humanity’s natural hunger for touch, connection and love, in an age where technology takes centre stage more than ever. As a fashion-tech project, the performance therefore fits seamlessly with the Metropolis Festival.
CTRL + BODY, BETWEEN FLESH AND MACHINE
Ctrl + Body explores what control over one’s body means today and in the future. Can we still control our own bodies, or are systems increasingly taking control of our movements? On stage, young performers seek an answer, caught between two extremes: the body as a marionette and the body that seeks to control itself entirely.
As early as 1810, Heinrich von Kleist described how humans lose the uninhibited way of moving characteristic of childhood – comparable to that of a marionette – as soon as they begin to control themselves. With that, the gate to that paradise closes for good – we cannot undo it and become children again.
Perhaps, however, there is a back door: taking the conscious control of our bodies to its absolute limit. For Vsevolod Meyerhold, this was the starting point of his acting training, in which the actor (the ‘machinist’) controls his body like a machine, just as a pianist plays his piano.
Ctrl + Body is a physical theatre performance: a journey, as von Kleist envisaged it, in search of a back door that might, somewhere, still grant access to paradise.
A collaboration between Robbe Vandenven and Madam Fortuna.
Program 24 OCT 2026: METROPOLIS 2126
Practical Info
@ Arenberg Theatre, Antwerp
19.00 Door
1.00 Expected ending
Get your tickets below!
Keep an eye on this page to find out who will be at Metropolis 2126!!
METROPOLIS 2126
Metropolis 2126 is for anyone curious about the world of 2126. On Saturday 24 October, the 'Heart of Metropolis' will take over Arenberg entirely. As the driving force behind the festival, they are bringing together young artists, musicians, theatre makers and filmmakers from across Flanders to transform the building into a vibrant city of the future.
Wander past installations, visual art and unexpected film screenings in a corner of the Arenberg, let yourself be swept away by audio in the corridors, or discover artists creating new work live. Dance to concerts by young, up-and-coming bands in the Great Hall, experience theatre in the Black Box, or be surprised by spoken word, open mics and dance performances.
From hopeful utopias to confrontational dystopias: every show, exhibition and performance offers a different perspective on the future. Metropolis 2126 is a total experience where art, technology and social issues converge – a place that challenges you not only to look to the future, but also to think about it for yourself!
