Multilingual Expression and Post-National Frames in 100% Brussels and Isabella’s Room

This article explores and compares instances of multilingual expression in contemporary postdramatic theatre that are linked to the exploration of migration, cosmopolitanism, and cross-cultural encounter. Taking Jan Lauwers and Needcompany's Isabella's Room and Rimini Protokoll's 100% Brussels as examples, the case study focuses on post-epic forms of narration and covert forms of authority. Moreover, it shows how multilingual expression and speaking with accents dismantle the unity of national languages and differentiate the performing collectives in both works. At the same time, acts of communal singing and dancing evoke a coherent and self-affirmative emotional sensibility that potentially includes the audience. Both performances operate within a postnational frame: while Isabella's Room conceptualizes Europe as a space of entanglement, 100% Brussels foregrounds immigrant subjects who position themselves as cosmopolitan citizens.