Events, arts & entertainment over the coming week

The editor's pick of what to do in Brussels and beyond

The month of December resembles a Christmas stocking bursting with stage shows, from artistic performances to fun for all the family.

First up is seasonal satire: last year the annual French-language political revue Sois Belge et Tais-Toi (pictured) happily riffed off the no-government saga and Euro crisis suspense thriller. The latter may be ongoing, but father and son team André and Baudouin Remy and their talented team are back celebrating the 15th anniversary of the satire show. They presented a gala evening to a packed crowd at Théâtre Saint-Michel last Thursday that included many of their figures of fun: Laurette Onckelinx, Joëlle Milquet, et al. It’s not only the country’s esteemed politicians who face pillory; European politicos and other Belgian stalwarts such as the royal family also take their turn in the stocks.

Next, contemporary dance: Brussels choreographer/director team Nicole Mossoux and Patrick Bonté stage a reprisal of their company’s first  and flagship work Juste Ciel at Théâtre Varia. The 1985 creation, a series of 20 short fragments performed here by Julia Arbey, looks at the effect the catholic religion has on behavior and society. The Bulletin’s late dance critic Luisa Moffett said of the original work: “In this day and age a serious dance on a religious theme is rarely successful. To perform it in a blasphemous spirit or to turn it into parody is a meticulous balancing act. Mossoux has done neither, and has struck the perfect note with a dance work that conveys the divided feelings of someone looking back on her memories of a Catholic girlhood.” In the intervening years Juste Ciel has lost none of its relevance and it reveals the beginning of a long and prolific journey for the two outstanding artists.

No festive season is complete without the thrills and hopefully not the spills of a circus show. This one from the Palestine Circus School takes a creative look at conflict with Kol Saber! performing at Halles de Schaerbeek. Created in 2006, the school was founded in the West Bank by Palestinian Shadi Zmorrod and Belgian Jessika Devlieghere and has become a multi-faith institution for the country’s youth. Five of its young artists return here to Belgium to present their brand new production. In Arabic, ‘Saber’ can mean either ‘patience’ or ‘the sweet fruit’ of the cactus, while ‘Kol’ is the imperative form of the verb ‘to eat’. Kol Saber! presents the conflict and eventual compromise between an imposed reality and a longed-for dream.

The busiest stretch of train track in the country is also the most controversial. Ever since the 2.8km North-South Junction was built in 1952 to link the busy Brussels North and South stations, it has been a contentious subject. Now that it has reached saturation point, the polemic is relaunched. The Brussels-Region has called on four Belgian and international architect offices to consider its future. In the exhibition 4x4 at Bozar each bureau presents its propositions on giant four metre square tapestries.  One thing is sure: the junction continues to inspire contradictory opinions.

For a blast of raucous rock straight out of the 1950s (with an injection of 1970s punk) don’t miss British band The Jim Jones Revue who are in Belgium on their European tour promoting third album The Savage Heart. After Beursschouwburg in Brussels they’re off to Liège and Antwerp. The Revue are reputed for their live shows and 2010 album Burning Your House Down.