The Truthful: She Who Speaks The Truth. That is the meaning of the name Siddiki. It is the name of preachers, for centuries. It dates back to Abu Bakr Siddiq, the first caliph and successor of Prophet Muhammad.
Departing from meetings with her uncle, Dr Nasir Siddiki - a former Muslim, saved by Jesus and grown into a charismatic evangelical preacher - Lieselot Siddiki makes The Truthful. The Truthful is Siddiki's fever dream. It is a vision that came to her when she undertook a journey through the promised land. As in her previous performance Up Your Ass (a co-creation with Nona Demey Gallagher), it expresses a fascination with the dark side of American society. The land of plenty, obsessed with conspiracy theories, rodeos, cartoons, puritanical beliefs and the dazzling promise of success.
The Truthful is autobiographical speculation and sheds light on shadows that were better left in the dark. It is fiction mixed with docu, autobiography mixed with bibles, truth mixed with lies.
The Truthful is a total spectacle.
The Truthful is about faith and the act of believing.
The Truthful is merging into something bigger, is transcending the mundane.
The Truthful is about megalomania, about madness, about contemplation, about redemption.
The Truthful is a circus of prophets in which charismatic demigods, preachers and fringe figures roam, evoked by Bavo Buys, Inci Gül Civelekoğlu, Joeri Happel and Elisabeth Klinck.
Composer Elisabeth Klinck's sound and music create an immersive experience and offer an additional perspective on reality. With vibrations, we enter another reality. Or as Dr Nasir Siddiki proclaims: vibrations are God, God singing. The big bang was a song. God sang the universe into existence.
