Internationally acclaimed solo performance combines Bach’s First Cello Suite with comedy, storytelling, and an existential crisis
What happens when an accomplished classical cellist abandons the expected formality of the recital stage and lets her inner clown take over?
On Saturday, September 19, Los Angeles-based cellist, actor, and clown Karen Hall brings her award-winning solo show, Delusions and Grandeur, to SoundHouse Den Haag for one performance only.
Part classical recital and part theatrical investigation, Delusions and Grandeur combines J.S. Bach’s Suite No. 1 in G Major for Solo Cello with physical comedy and deeply personal storytelling. Hall gradually peels away the conventions surrounding classical performance to examine ambition, artistic identity, self-doubt, success, and the sacrifices demanded by mastery.
The result is a performance that moves freely between virtuosity and absurdity, asking what remains when an artist is separated from the instrument, expectations, and professional identity that have shaped her life.
Described by Australian Arts Review as “as irreverent as it is poignant,” the production has toured internationally and received the Outstanding Theatre Award at the 2025 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the Adelaide Fringe Judges’ Weekly Award for Best in Music, and Stage Raw’s award for Best Solo Performance in Los Angeles Theatre.
“Karen Hall’s work is exactly the kind of performance we want to bring to SoundHouse,” says Elizabeth Huston of Synchromie Muziek. “It is technically excellent, deeply human, and impossible to fit neatly into a single category. Classical musicians will recognize the world she is questioning, but the show is equally accessible to people who have never attended a cello recital.”
Event Information
Event: Delusions and Grandeur
Artist: Karen Hall
Presented by: SoundHouse
Date: Saturday, September 19, 2026
Time: 14:00-15:00
Venue: SoundHouse Den Haag
Address: De Constant Rebecqueplein 20B, 2518 RA Den Haag
Tickets: €20 general admission; €10 for students and SoundHouse members
Tickets and information: Eventbrite
Venue information: SoundHouse Den Haag
About Karen Hall
Karen Hall is a professional cellist, educator, actor, and clown based in Los Angeles. Her career has taken her from Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl to television and recording studios. She appeared on camera as the cellist on the television series Glee for four seasons and has contributed to recordings ranging from independent albums to soundtracks for Emmy-nominated productions.
Hall has performed with symphony orchestras throughout greater Los Angeles and worked with artists including Shawn Mendes, Geoff Emerick, and Yoshiki. Her solo production, Delusions and Grandeur, brings together her classical training and work in clowning, improvisation, and physical theatre. The show has toured internationally to critical acclaim, including performances at the Edinburgh, Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Vancouver, Hollywood, and San Diego fringe festivals.
About SoundHouse Den Haag
SoundHouse is a musician-run venue in The Hague’s Energiekwartier. Located within the DCR creative complex, it provides a home for independent artists whose work crosses genres and disciplines. SoundHouse presents concerts, workshops, research, residencies, and experimental performances in an intimate setting designed to encourage meaningful exchange between artists and audiences.