“A story of industry of individual enterprise – humanity crusading in the pursuit of happiness”. 

(opening sign Modern Times)

 

What if Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times were filmed today? Not in a factory, but in the field of the arts. Together with Femke Gyselinck, Maya Mertens (Vieze Meisje), Jeroen van Der Ven and Lawrence Mcguire (Hogobogobogo), Ferre Marnef explores what capital means within the fluid labor model of today’s freelancer. The performance dynamites the shiny facades of the artistic entrepreneurs of the self in order to understand its own state of being.

Aggressively Modern Times wants to keep in mind that it is still possible to intervene in this liquid world. It is a peep show about life and work in a world where more and more people start to degrade to a means: either functioning or failing. In between, as with machines, there is nothing. 

In his first full-length performance since Desnor, Ferre Marnef double crosses sound and image. It is as much a concert as it is a theater performance, but secretly wants to be neither. The visual and sonic collage drags the present onto the stage; the city-as-machine, the artist-as-brand, in order to escape the Rules of the Art as a gentle punk act. 

Ferre Marnef is a music-making theatrical graphic designer 

Ferre Marnef is a graphic musical theater maker 

Ferre Marnef is a theatrical designed musician

Within the boundaries of his own theater collective Desnor, he worked with Louis Janssens for 10 years on a shared portrait of our time and how the world (doesn't) work. Supported and guided by, among others, CAMPO and detheatermaker, they created the performances Ideale Plaats (Jong Werk TAZ 2013), #BOS (Jong Werk TAZ 2014), Galileo (2017), and Toverberg (2019). 

In addition to Desnor, he works closely with the theater company tibaldus as an actor, including on the complete Gombrowicz trilogy (2016–2023) and Gekken & Specialisten (2020).
He has also worked in various roles (actor, musician, graphic designer, scenographer, etc.) with Ontroerend Goed, Danaï Anesadiou, Sophia & Marieke, buren, Ilan Manouach, TOESTAND, Bauke Lievens, Anouk Friedli, FroeFroe & Miet Warlop, among others.

After established bands such as Soldier's Heart and Glints, he now focuses musically on his own experimental band Sergeant. Together with Benjamin Cools and Geraldine Vanspauwen, Sergeant composes his sampled self with scissors and flutes around the abyss of pop music. Their debut album was released in 2023 on the internationally renowned label STROOM. Their second album, Symbols, will be released in March '26.

In addition to Sergeant, he plays in more casual projects such as 5th of July (with Roman Hiele & Victoria Palacios) and De Nooit Moede (with Victor De Roo & Jente Waerzeggers, among others).