The Harvest of Broken Promises
Production Studio Current, CAMPO, Amsterdam, Ghent
The Harvest of Broken Promises is a theatre piece, set in 1990s India, in the moment when the neoliberal market opened its doors to global capital. It explores the transformation of farming practices and the devastating impact this shift had on farmers' lives, local ecologies, and the broader social fabric. At the heart of the performance is the historical arrival of multinational corporations such as Monsanto, whose genetically modified seeds, became the symbol of industrial
agriculture and dismantled traditional farming systems.
The work confronts the dependency structures imposed by such corporations, which continue to shape rural economies and ecological futures. Blending video footage, interviews, live art, visual art, and folk tales, the piece moves fluidly between fact and myth, the personal and the political.
Through the stories of Pankaj Tiwari, and a dozen of farmers from all corners of the world and present through video, the piece captures a deep tension between aspiration and survival. His story becomes a mirror for a generation caught between the promises of progress and the loss of ancestral knowledge. It traces how corporate greed and government complicity buried ancestral knowledge, disrupted ecological cycles, and drove thousands of farmers to debt and suicide.
CREDITS
concept, creation & text Pankaj Tiwari
performance Pankaj Tiwari
music Nazanin Yalda
video, sound & interviews Prabhash Chandra
video & scenography Pol Heyvaert
dramaturgy Maria Dogahe & Michiel Vandevelde
set design Fern Van Der Grijn & Gino Seghers
set design assistant Wim Goedertier
costumes Sigga Hannesdóttir
technique Laurens Claas, Geeraard Respeel & Piet Depoortere
production Studio Current & CAMPO
co-production Internationales Sommer Festival Kampnagel (Hamburg), Theaterfestival Boulevard (‘s-Hertogenbosch), Kaaitheater (Brussels), MC93 (Bobigny), Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst & Fonds Podiumkunsten, & Het Cultuurfonds
with the support of thetaxshelter of the Belgian Federal Government via uFund
Tour
7 AUG 26 - 19:00 - THEATERFESTIVAL BOULEVARD, DEN BOSCH (avant-premiere)
8 AUG 26 - 19:00 - THEATERFESTIVAL BOULEVARD, DEN BOSCH (avant-premiere)
14 AUG 26 - 20:00 - INTERNATIONAL SUMMER FESTIVAL, HAMBURG (premiere)
15 AUG 26 - 20:00 - INTERNATIONAL SUMMER FESTIVAL, HAMBURG (premiere)
16 AUG 26 - 20:00 - INTERNATIONAL SUMMER FESTIVAL, HAMBURG (premiere)
27 AUG 26 - 20:00 - FESTIVAL DE GENÈVE, LA BÂTIE
28 AUG 26 - 20:00 - FESTIVAL DE GENÈVE, LA BÂTIE
29 AUG 26 - 20:00 - FESTIVAL DE GENÈVE, LA BÂTIE
23 Sep 26 - CAMPO Ghent
25 Sep 26 - CAMPO Ghent
26 Sep 26 - CAMPO Ghent
2nd Oct 26 - Romaeuropa
3rd Oct 26. - Romaeuropa
20th Oct 26. - Grand Theatre Groningen
23rd Oct 26. - Kaai Theatre Brussels
24th Oct 26. - Kaai Theatre Brussels
IN THE PRESS
"For Tiwari, agriculture is about much more than just feeding people." - Pieter-Jan Keleman, interview in MO* magazine
"Tiwari skilfully manages to bring us back to the smallest essence every time: seeds. Telling his story – at times visibly emotional – is an attempt to get us involved in his story. And he succeeds." - Mina Etemad, review in Theaterkrant
"A deeply moving performance." - Annette Stiekele, review in Hamburger Abendblatt