Chicks in Dialogue
60% of all birds on Earth are chickens: time to start a conversation! In this musical performance, Lindertje gives this undervalued animal a voice. Behind this often-mocked bird lies an enormously rich and intelligent world. She asks herself: what do we, as female beings, have in common when we’re both called ‘chick’? After many hours spent among the chickens in her hometown and research together with the Animal Labour Union, she shares her insights with the audience in the theatre.
Lindertje Mans X Firma Mes
X Firma Mes is a new label under which work is presented that falls outside the regular program and explores new directions for the company.
From May onwards at festivals, and in theatres starting in September. Test sessions in The Hague on April 21 and 22!
Together with the audience, we imagine what it’s like to be a chicken and practice different clucking patterns, learning how to say: “I’ve laid an egg.” After an interactive workshop section, the performance gradually transforms into a captivating clucking opera, in which Lindertje slowly transforms into a chicken.
All of this unfolds to enchanting compositions created with composer Stephanie Pan, combining chicken sounds, electronic rhythms and synthesizers. Expect tools for a conversation between human and chicken, humour, and a compelling story about femininity, the egg, and a plea for radical empathy. Eating an omelette will never be the same again!
There is a (mostly) Dutch-language version and a fully English-language version — and, of course, chicken language. Check the agenda to see which one it is!
SNEAK PEEK: On 21 and 22 April, there will be test sessions in The Hague. At Het Paradijs — the attic theatre of the Royal Theatre — audiences will get an intimate first glimpse of the project. In this small setting, Lindertje shares her findings so far, both interactively and musically.
Chicks in Dialogue is a performance designed to be flexible and adaptable to different locations. The full performance lasts 60 minutes, but it is also possible to book a short interactive act (for example, a Chicken Language Course) of 15–20 minutes for a festival, conference, or other event.
Questions or bookings?
Email lindertje@firmames.nl
Lindertje has been engaged for some time in artistic research into chicken communication. She has presented research presentations in Madrid at the Institute for Postnatural Studies, at the Xarkis Festival in Cyprus, and was previously part of O.lab, the research programme of the O. Festival.
Chicks in Dialogue is the third solo production Lindertje has created with Firma Mes. Previously, she made TECH: The Life And Death Of A Sex Robot and The Gaia Hypothesis. These were presented, among other places, at the Lowlands Festival and the Tête-à-Tête Opera Festival in London.
In all of her solo works, she gives non-human beings a voice.
For her research into chicken sounds, Lindertje collaborates with the Animal Labour Union (Vakbond voor Dieren). They are initiating research into happiness sounds in chickens, working towards the development of a chicken happiness meter. More about this here.
Together with Marjolein de Rooij from the Vakbond voor Dieren, Lindertje also gives keynote talks on animal communication and the lessons humans can learn from it. More about that here.
Chicks in Dialogue is part of the Symbio Kunst Lab 2026 of the Stichting Symbio
– De Volkskrant ★★★★
