--- title: "Els van Houtert – Necessarium" description: "Necessarium is about the small rituals that are an important part of our everyday life. The daily routines we perform so often without thinking about them. We develop relationships with ordinary objects, spaces, and habits. They may seem simple, but they can carry memories, desires, and personal…" image: "https://brut-wien.at/de/img/asset/YXNzZXRzL3Byb2R1Y3Rpb25zLzIwMjYtMjcvMjYxMV9FbHNWYW5Ib3V0ZXJ0L0Vsc3ZhbkhvdXRlcnRfTmVjZXNzYXJpdW1fY19GcmFuY2VzY28tRGlwaWVycm8uanBn/ElsvanHoutert_Necessarium_c_Francesco-Dipierro.jpg?w=1200&h=630&fit=crop_focal&q=80&s=f7448225f939e5de927d45bbfbd233c5" --- 12–13 Nov [ Dates Dates ](#dates) # Els van Houtert Necessarium 12–13 Nov - [Huggy Bears Days](https://brut-wien.at/en/series/huggy-bears-days) - Performance - World premiere ![A person bends over a white sink in a bathroom. In the narrow mirror above the sink, their head is tilted forward and their face remains hidden. They are wearing a white sleeveless top, with a light-coloured hair tie or clip in their hair. A tattoo is visible on one shoulder. Next to the sink are a bar of soap on a small dish, a cup with toothbrushes, scissors and other bathroom items. A small clump of hair lies on the edge of the sink. The scene feels quiet, intimate and everyday, with cool, bright colours and a matter-of-fact framing.](https://brut-wien.at/assets/productions/2026-27/2611_ElsVanHoutert/ElsvanHoutert_Necessarium_c_Francesco-Dipierro.jpg) Els van Houtert – *Necessarium* © Francesco Dipierro ## Event information ### Location [WUK performing arts – Projektraum](https://brut-wien.at/en/service/spielstaetten#location-wuk-performing-arts-projektraum) ### Price 22 / 18 / 14 Euro ### Duration 45–55 Min. ### Language English, German and Dutch Share event ### Content Notes Open + The performance contains nudity. Recommended for ages 14 and up *Necessarium* is about the small rituals that are an important part of our everyday life. The daily routines we perform so often without thinking about them. We develop relationships with ordinary objects, spaces, and habits. They may seem simple, but they can carry memories, desires, and personal stories. This solo performance turns the bathroom as the most private of rooms into a site of ritual, touch and transformation. It examines layers of meaning in the bathroom, reflecting on the question: How do we become ourselves when we are alone? *You and I share an intimate companionship: we sing to each other, reflect one another, you embrace the fluids I release, and I embrace your cold, smooth surfaces. Inside you, I think I see myself. What I show you is what I dare to unveil. I present you my future, my past, my queen. You gently disentangle my hair. What do you see?* *Necessarium* explores the small rituals and routines we repeat so often that they quietly structure everyday life, while remaining almost invisible. Through repetition, we develop intimate relationships with ordinary objects and spaces. What appears mundane, can reflect memories, fantasies, and realities. It opens up an existential space in which questions of identity, desire and self-image make us quietly negotiate: Who do we wish to be, what are we willing to reveal, and, perhaps more importantly, what do we want to conceal? The solo performance turns the bathroom – that probably most private of rooms – into a site of ritual and transformation. It seems to be one of the few places where intimacy can unfold without witnesses or expectations. Els van Houtert brings this deeply personal subject to the stage. The project negotiates intimacy in the presence of others, exploring how we are shaped through dynamics of revealing and concealing. Within this field of tension, she asks: How do we become ourselves when we are alone? What does the bathroom know about us, that the rest of the world does not? Read more Read more about Necessarium ## Dates - 12 Nov Thu Download the date of 12.11.2026 19:00 - 13 Nov Fri Download the date of 13.11.2026 19:00 ## Media ## Contributors ### Credits By and with Els van Houtert A co-production by Bears in the Park, brut Wien and WUK performing arts Funded by the City of Vienna’s Department of Cultural Affairs (MA 7) and the Federal Ministry of Housing, Arts, Culture, Media and Sport (BMWKMS). ### [Els van Houtert](https://brut-wien.at/en/artists/els-van-houtert) Els van Houtert (she/her) is a multidisciplinary performance artist and artistic researcher based in Vienna whose work involves embodied experience, ceramics, drawing, installation and writing. She holds a master’s degree in art and science from the Vienna University of Applied Art (2024) and has an academic background in anthropology and religious science. Her practice focuses on physical experiences and encounters with materials of daily life. Through a micro-phenomenological lens, Els van Houtert explores the subtle sensory relationships between a person and others as well as the material world surrounding those other. She treats the body as a primary place of exploration and creates performance pieces and collaborations that are often interactive and call for collective ritualisation and reflection. [ Read more Read more ](https://brut-wien.at/en/artists/els-van-houtert) ## Recommendation ![](https://brut-wien.at/de/img/asset/YXNzZXRzL2xvZ29zL0tvb3BlcmF0aW9uc3BhcnRuZXJpbm5lbi9CZWFyc2ludGhlcGFyay5wbmc/Bearsinthepark.png?fm=avif&w=1400&q=75&s=785eda1bd467b8b52c0e4738c3d90603) ## [ Huggy Bears ](https://brut-wien.at/en/netzwerke/huggy-bears) More info More info [Huggy Bears](https://brut-wien.at/en/netzwerke/huggy-bears) ![A rectangular ceiling light glows in a dark room. Behind the frosted cover, several shadows of moth-like or insect-like shapes are visible. The reduced image focuses on light, shadow and the delicate outlines of the small bodies.](https://brut-wien.at/de/img/asset/YXNzZXRzL3Byb2R1Y3Rpb25zLzIwMjYtMjcvMjYxMV9TdW5nZ3VIb25nLzI2X1N1bmdndS1Ib25nX1JhaXNlZGJ5dGhlQ2hyb25pY19CZXlvbmR0aGVNb3RoX2NfT3BlbkFJX0NoYXRHUFQuanBn/26_Sunggu-Hong_RaisedbytheChronic_BeyondtheMoth_c_OpenAI_ChatGPT.jpg?fm=avif&w=3000&q=75&s=5148112033fbce3658d7ef59b55a885d) - [Huggy Bears Days](https://brut-wien.at/en/series/huggy-bears-days) - Performance - World premiere 14–16 Nov ## [ Sunggu Hong Raised by the Chronic; Beyond, the Moth ](https://brut-wien.at/en/programme/calendar/2026-27/sunggu-hong-raised-by-the-chronic-beyond-the-moth) More info More info [Raised by the Chronic; Beyond, the Moth](https://brut-wien.at/en/programme/calendar/2026-27/sunggu-hong-raised-by-the-chronic-beyond-the-moth) ![Close-up of a hand with black nail polish and several rings gripping leopard-print fabric. Next to it lies a dark brown, fur-like object with a light tip, reminiscent of a tail or paw. The tight framing focuses on material, texture and touch.](https://brut-wien.at/de/img/asset/YXNzZXRzL3Byb2R1Y3Rpb25zLzIwMjYtMjcvMjYxMV9EYXJpYU5vc2lrX0thdGVyaW5hTm9zaWsvMjZfRGFyaWFOb3Npa19LYXRlcmluYU5vc2lrX0RPR19jX0RhcmlhTm9zaWsucG5n/26_DariaNosik_KaterinaNosik_DOG_c_DariaNosik.png?fm=avif&w=900&q=75&s=30af3c4dc23882e04d5b673c777f700a) - [Huggy Bears Days](https://brut-wien.at/en/series/huggy-bears-days) - Performance - World premiere 14–16 Nov ## [ Daria Nosik & Katerina Nosik DOG ](https://brut-wien.at/en/programme/calendar/2026-27/daria-nosik-katerina-nosik-dog) More info More info [DOG](https://brut-wien.at/en/programme/calendar/2026-27/daria-nosik-katerina-nosik-dog) ![Close-up of two hands touching a torn-open orange on a round stone surface. The fingers rest on the wet peel and exposed flesh of the fruit, while pieces of orange and traces of juice are spread across the stone. The hands look glossy and slightly smeared. The background is strongly blurred, keeping the focus on the touch, the texture of the orange and the surface of the stone.](https://brut-wien.at/de/img/asset/YXNzZXRzL3Byb2R1Y3Rpb25zLzIwMjYtMjcvMjYxMV9LYXRhcmluYUtydXBpY2tvdmFfRmxvcmVudGluYUViZW5iYXVlci8yNl9wcmVzc2VfS2F0YXJpbmFLcnVwaWNrb3ZhX0Zsb3JlbnRpbmFFYmVuYmF1ZXJfVG8tQmVhdXR5LUJlaG9sZF9jX0hpcmFudGhhLUd1bmF0aGlsbGFrZV8yLmpwZw/26_presse_KatarinaKrupickova_FlorentinaEbenbauer_To-Beauty-Behold_c_Hirantha-Gunathillake_2.jpg?fm=avif&w=3000&q=75&s=c416689255d1e2065641de6d2c97f473) - [Huggy Bears Days](https://brut-wien.at/en/series/huggy-bears-days) - Dance performance - World premiere 12–13 Nov ## [ Katarína Krupičková & Florentina Ebenbauer To Beauty Behold ](https://brut-wien.at/en/programme/calendar/2026-27/katarina-krupickova-florentina-ebenbauer-to-beauty-behold) More info More info [To Beauty Behold](https://brut-wien.at/en/programme/calendar/2026-27/katarina-krupickova-florentina-ebenbauer-to-beauty-behold) ```json {"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"WebSite","url":"https:\/\/brut-wien.at\/en","name":"brut Wien","description":"House of Performing Arts"} {"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Programme","item":"https:\/\/brut-wien.at\/en\/en\/programme\/calendar"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Calendar","item":"https:\/\/brut-wien.at\/en\/programme\/calendar"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Necessarium","item":"https:\/\/brut-wien.at\/en\/programme\/calendar\/2026-27\/els-van-houtert-necessarium"}]} {"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Organization","name":"brut Wien","url":"https:\/\/brut-wien.at\/en","slogan":"House of Performing Arts","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/brut_wien\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/brutWien\/","https:\/\/vimeo.com\/brut"]} ```