Lanoye read from Mefisto for Ever and Atropa, the Revenge of Peace, his two most recent plays which Guy Cassiers (Het Toneelhuis) staged as parts of The Triptych of Power. With Atropa, the closing part of the Triptych, Lanoye returns to the mother of all wars, the tragic battle of Troy. The day after the reading, Atropa celebrated its French premiere at the Festival of Avignon, launching a tour through France.
With help from French translator Alain van Crugten, Lanoye was able to serve a simultaneous rendition of the texts in Dutch and French. The crowd was pleased. To round off the reading, the audience was treated to a high-speed rendition of Fortress Europe.
All the French translations of the mentioned texts were subsidised by the Flemish Literature Fund. The booklets, in a beautiful edition by Het Toneelhuis, were for sale at the festival and will be available also during the French tour.
