Culture beat: 30 January

Exploring society’s obsession with competition in business and culture is media executive Margaret Herffernan at Full Circle’s next talking heads dinner on Wednesday. Heffernan presents alternatives in Competition Isn’t Everything, at a location to be announced a couple of days before the event.

The premiere of drama Memento Park at KVS on Friday is a timely one. Written by Thomas Bellinck, the play looks at the links between violence and tourism. The background to the play is the publication in 1917 of a guide to the battlefields of the Marne region in France. After the First World War, a similar guide to the Flemish battlefields appeared and Thomas Cook organised the first group trips to sites.

There’s a big birthday bash planned at Brussels’ Beursschouwburg, which will be celebrating 50 years of contemporary theatre, dance and music with 50 hours of performance and activities, featuring DJ sets, vaudeville, videos, dream workshops and lots of cake. It starts on Thursday.

Thursday also sees the beginning of three days celebrating the piano in Flagey’s Piano Days, kicking off with a performance by the Academy of Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw Orchestra and followed by concerts and masterclasses by international luminaries including Denis Kozhukhin, Guillaume Coppola, Kaito Kobayashi and Till Fellner.

Courtesy of Belgian singer Liesa van der Aa and La Monnaie’s Night at the Opera series comes an introduction to the opera for younger viewers who may not be so familiar with the genre. Before the show, there’s an introduction (in English) of the show, Tamerlano (pictured) and a discussion with Van der Aa; afterwards, a drink and the chance to mingle with the performers and hear Van der Aa perform tracks from her new album.

And after a successful first edition last year, the Salon du Chocolat returns to Brussels next weekend, bringing with it tastings, pastry demos, sculptures, exhibitions, workshops and an offbeat fashion show featuring creations made from chocolate.

Photo: Tamerlano (c) Bernd Uhlig