De Echt/The Wed/
Vesillia 2.0
“It takes a village to wed…”
An immersive music theatre ritual of community and belonging.
De Echt / The Wed / Vesillia 2.0 is not a performance you simply watch - it is a shared ritual you enter.
Audience members gather at long communal tables where bread, pumpkin, song, and storytelling become the building blocks of a temporary community. The boundaries between performer and spectator gradually dissolve as guests are invited not only to witness, but also to listen, sing, knead dough, share food, and participate in a collective experience.
Inspired by traditional Ukrainian wedding rituals, the performance reimagines ancient ceremonies for a contemporary, multicultural society. Through ritual theatre, polyphonic singing, live electronics, and communal actions, De Echt explores a timely question: how do we create meaningful connection in an age of individualisation, polarisation, and increasingly digital encounters?
The 90-minute performance unfolds across ten ritual scenes. Audiences are welcomed into a festive yet intimate environment where musicians, singers, local choir members, and participants sit side by side. Traditional Ukrainian wedding songs are transformed into new compositions combining live electronics, multilingual singing (Ukrainian, Dutch, and English), and participatory theatre.
Each presentation is developed in collaboration with a local choir, making every edition site-specific and rooted in its community. Bread and pumpkin function as recurring dramaturgical symbols throughout a journey of transition, choice, hospitality, and belonging.
Maryana Golovchenko - direction, vocals
Daniel Cross - direction, percussion, electronics
Andriana-Yaroslava Saienko - vocals
Pau Sola Masafrets - cello
Antonii Baryshevsky - piano, synths
Uliana Bun - culinary artist
Andriana Minou - libretto
“It takes a village to wed…”
An immersive music theatre ritual of community and belonging.
De Echt / The Wed / Vesillia 2.0 is not a performance you simply watch - it is a shared ritual you enter.
Audience members gather at long communal tables where bread, pumpkin, song, and storytelling become the building blocks of a temporary community. The boundaries between performer and spectator gradually dissolve as guests are invited not only to witness, but also to listen, sing, knead dough, share food, and participate in a collective experience.
Inspired by traditional Ukrainian wedding rituals, the performance reimagines ancient ceremonies for a contemporary, multicultural society. Through ritual theatre, polyphonic singing, live electronics, and communal actions, De Echt explores a timely question: how do we create meaningful connection in an age of individualisation, polarisation, and increasingly digital encounters?
The 90-minute performance unfolds across ten ritual scenes. Audiences are welcomed into a festive yet intimate environment where musicians, singers, local choir members, and participants sit side by side. Traditional Ukrainian wedding songs are transformed into new compositions combining live electronics, multilingual singing (Ukrainian, Dutch, and English), and participatory theatre.
Each presentation is developed in collaboration with a local choir, making every edition site-specific and rooted in its community. Bread and pumpkin function as recurring dramaturgical symbols throughout a journey of transition, choice, hospitality, and belonging.
Maryana Golovchenko - direction, vocals
Daniel Cross - direction, percussion, electronics
Andriana-Yaroslava Saienko - vocals
Pau Sola Masafrets - cello
Antonii Baryshevsky - piano, synths
Uliana Bun - culinary artist
Andriana Minou - libretto