Anna Franziska Jäger & Nathan Ooms / CAMPO: Modesta (play of language & lips)

In Modesta (play of language and lips), five performers set out to uncover who Modesta truly is. Is she a fantasy, a force we can feel? A young girl who transforms pain into pleasure, a woman who bends the rules of language and society, or a mysterious figure who cannot be ignored? Through language and movement, Modesta takes on countless forms and invites us to follow her trail.

Known for their love of non-theatrical texts and a physical acting style, Ooms & Jäger team up with performers Rosie Sommers, Christine De Smedt, and Arthur Loontjens to breathe new life into the coming-of-age genre. Inspired by Goliarda Sapienza’s The Art of Joy, written in the 1960s but only published decades later, the performance embodies the uncompromising desires, willpower, and joy of Modesta—the titular heroine who creates her own rules and defies the moral boundaries of her time. A celebration of freedom, transformation, and the art of living on your own terms, just as Modesta does.