Stefan de Kogel

A crash test without a seatbelt.

Stefan de Kogel tries to make sense of himself. But as is the case with men whose inner compass is structurally set to panic, along the way he demolishes everything he encounters: his relationships, his ego, his interior and, at times, his moral convictions. For Stefan, self-reflection turns out not to be a quiet diary moment with herbal tea but a crash test without a seatbelt. Every attempt at growth ends in debris, followed by the heartfelt conclusion: "Interesting... this went differently than planned."

Ruthless honesty

With a ruthless honesty and a timing you only appreciate when it is already too late, Stefan takes you past painful childhood memories. Along failed conversations with therapists: "So you are actually saying that I am the problem?" and along life lessons that he invariably learns the moment they are no longer useful. Meanwhile, he tries to grow up, which mainly involves consulting Google with questions like: When do you know your feelings are real? And: Is this still character or already a disorder?

Self-reflection is nice, but chaos is what makes it truly entertaining.

SLOOPKOGEL is raw, painfully relatable and violently funny. It is a performance about trying, failing and trying again, but just a bit harder than necessary. About a man who wants to fix himself with a hammer and then wonders why it keeps bleeding. You laugh, you cringe and sometimes you do both at the same time. Because if Stefan proves one thing, it is this: self-reflection is fine, but chaos is what makes it truly entertaining.