Vrouwen buiten de norm met Susie Wang, Magda Szpecht & Friederike Schubert

History is full of ways to describe women who fall outside the norm: hysterical, irrational, dangerous, or mad. But what happens when artists place these very figures at the centre of their work? Two Noorderzon performances explore this question through very different lenses: a soldier, a horror figure; a woman who refuses to conform.

Magda Szpecht, through the story of a Ukrainian woman who chooses to become a soldier, examines questions of responsibility, idealism, war, and the position of women who step beyond traditional roles.

Susie Wang uses the language of horror satire to explore fear, desire, identity, and the moments when a woman no longer fits the image others have of her.

Michał Rogulski (representing Magda Szpecht), Trine Falch (Susie Wang), and Friederike Schubert (dramaturg at NITE) come together to discuss women who leave the beaten path. They explore fear, otherness, mental health, and the political power of characters who refuse—or are unable—to meet the expectations placed upon them. A conversation about who is given space, who is judged, and what emerges when women reclaim their own stories.

Host: Rosie Reith

Shifting Grounds – Artist Conversations

In Noorderzon's new Shifting Grounds series, artists from the international programme and leading thinkers come together to explore the questions that lie beneath the surface. How can art open up new ways of seeing the world? Expect conversations on topics including mental health, hidden systems, and new forms of imagination, featuring artists such as Louis Vanhaverbeke, Ant Hampton, Marco Mendonça, Andy Field, and Dead Centre, alongside thinkers including Thijs Lijster and Alice Lagaay.

With thanks to Wilbert van de Kamp and Rosie Reith.