Björn van Raaij

SEXODUS

Naomi Velissariou / Theater Utrecht

Fri 11 Dec and Sat 12 Dec

''AS LONG AS I LIVE, I WILL BE AGING. MY ONLY OTHER OPTION IS TO DIE.''

coming soon

Fri 11 Dec

and

Sat 12 Dec

coming soon

Fri 11 Dec

20:30

Frascati, Amsterdam

Frascati 1

To wishlist

coming soon
Sat 12 Dec

20:30

Frascati, Amsterdam

Frascati 1

To wishlist

coming soon

In SEXODUS, we see an actress at the threshold of her forties. She knows that in the Western world, she is expected to keep looking like a twenty-four-year-old until she’s far into her sixties. So, she adapts. Again. And again.

Her body is marked by centuries of aesthetic oppression. What starts as compliance turns into resistance. In an exhilarating revenge fantasy, she takes the weapons of the arts, the entertainment industry and social media into her own hands. Through fashion, live video and music, she challenges a global system that thrives on female insecurity, hoping to get a glimpse of what lies beyond.

SEXODUS offers an honest look into the female mind and shows how a woman’s body is being shaped, used and reclaimed.

“How I get through the next 90 minutes defines who I’m going to be for the rest of my life.”
SEXODUS is a physical rollercoaster in which Naomi Velissariou shapeshifts into a storm of female archetypes, under the meticulous direction of Nicole Beutler. The uncompromising language of Bregje Hofstede and Naomi is carried by the crafty sound and sharp imagery of performance collective URLAND, which plays with references to pop culture, history and the arts. All this is amplified by the daring costume design of artist Ülkühan Akgül. This teamwork results in a one-woman show that is as multifaceted as woman herself.

Duration: 90 minutes
Language: English
Language no problem
Please note: stroboscopic lighting effects

Credits

concept, text and performance Naomi Velissariou director Nicole Beutler sound design and composition Jimi Zoet set, lighting and video Marijn Alexander de Jong text en dramaturgy Bregje Hofstede costume design Ülkühan Akgül photography Dion Bal and Ülkühan Akgül

SEXODUS is a production by Theater Utrecht, in co-production with Urland, Nicole Beutler Projects and O. Festival.

About Naomi Velissariou

Naomi Velissariou is a Greek-Belgian director, writer, actor, and performance artist with a fascination for the fluidity of contemporary identity and the ways in which it is deployed within today’s image culture. She represents a generation of engaged performing artists and is not afraid to take a stand on behalf of this generation. She creates poetic spectacles that immerse audiences with merciless lyrics, pounding beats, and dazzling visuals.

In 2017, Naomi received the Charlotte Köhler Prijs, an encouragement award from the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds. In 2019, she won the Directing Award for Part I of her PERMANENT DESTRUCTION trilogy, The SK Concert. In 2021, she received the Theo d’Or for Part III, Pain Against Fear. Her performance HARDKOOR was nominated for the VSCD Mime/Performance Award 2025.