opening night
the shape of us with deborah levy
29 October 2026 • Skatecafé Amsterdam • 19.30 – 23.00
What does it mean to be truly understood?
During the opening night of Brainwash Festival, we meet Deborah Levy: writer, thinker, observer of human imperfection, and master at uncovering everything that plays out beneath the surface. Her gaze is both intimate and sharp, which makes her writing irresistible. Levy’s books give you the feeling that someone has secretly peeked inside your head — and subsequently found better words for it.
In the intimate setting of Skatecafé Amsterdam, we invite Levy to plunge into the shape of us. A search into that intricate tension between the individual and the collective. Between freedom and connectedness. Between choosing for yourself and being there for others. How are we actually doing? And how do we alternate between being autonomous and acting in solidarity without ending up in an identity crisis?
Expect an evening full of personal reflections, philosophical contemplations, and above all, an invitation to keep asking questions — to yourself and others. After the conversation with Deborah Levy, there will be music, drinks, and plenty of room to continue talking with old or new friends.
over deborah levy
“Being apart is a different way of being together”. Perhaps living together is more about searching for a shared understanding of the human condition than about physical resemblance or ideological closeness. For years, Deborah Levy has been exploring the complex emotions of our existence and the intersection where the personal and the political meet. In her novels, autofiction, plays, and poetry, she investigates the major themes of our time: freedom, identity, desire, power, authorship, and womanhood.
South African author Deborah Levy (1959) has written, among others, the acclaimed novels Swimming Home, Hot Milk—the film adaptation of which was released in the summer of 2025 starring Emma Mackey—and August Blue. Things I Don’t Want to Know was the first of three ‘living autobiographies’, a new genre that Levy created single-handedly. All of Levy’s work is filled with philosophical reflections, complex feminist consciousness, and striking everyday observations. Always sharp, witty, and with an unerring eye for the absurdity of modern existence.
In her latest book My Year in Paris with Gertrude Stein (De Geus, 2026), Levy explores the life and work of the legendary writer and art collector Gertrude Stein. Ultimately she asks herself a question that is both personal and universal: what does it mean to be truly understood?
the shape of us
We are expected to take care of ourselves, be autonomous, and present ourselves as unique and attractive. Success is a choice; failure is your own fault. Meanwhile, the idea of a collective ‘we’ seems increasingly difficult to define. Where do we still find each other? And what responsibility do we bear for one another? No matter how much we would like to believe that we can manage on our own, we need each other. Tonight, we explore the Brainwash Festival annual theme: the shape of us.
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“Sometimes we want to unbelong as much as we want to belong.”
Deborah Levy, The Cost of Living, A Working Biography (2018)
praktisch info
Date: 29 October 206
Doors open: 19.00h
Time: 19:30 – 23:00h
Language: English
Location: Skatecafé, Gedempt Hamerkanaal 42, 1021 KM, Amsterdam
Standard Ticket: €20,00
Support Ticket: €22,50
Under30 Ticket: €17,50