This week, two things already became clear about the Dutch theatre world. One: the topic of diversity is finally really on the map and two: the theatre world, however small, is hopelessly divided. During The Theatre Festival, there were two debates/ meetings/ symposiums on the lack of diversity in theatre. One on Monday, the other on Thursday. Bit much in one week. Couldn't that have been done together? It may not have been divisive, but at the very least it showed lousy communication.
The now well-known Transition Office, which does work on politics and theatre, did something about 'diversity' on Monday. On Thursday, there was a symposium of employers' association NAPK overloaded with meaning and programme elements. Also about diversity. At the same festival where, on Sunday 17 September, there is an award ceremony that is already more fraught in advance than ever, because of that same diversity.
Quincy Gario
Wins Romana Peace the deserved prize for best female lead is not, there will be consequences. After all, thanks to all the attention on her nomination, no one knows who the other nominees are. Should the jury deem one of them better suited for the main prize, discussion is sure to follow. If she does get it, there will also be consequences. After all, Romana Peace will then rightly point out the large number of never-awarded 'diverse' actors in whose footsteps she is following. Last Tuesday, she said, she had already been briefed by Quincy Gario prior to her appearance on DWDD. As a result, the conversation at the table apparently already ran a little more awkwardly than the editors had hoped. Rightly, of course, that discomfort.
Discomfort, but welcome discomfort the National Theatre is experiencing. That company has chosen to diversify not only in repertoire (Race, The Nation) but also in casting. Dramaturg Remco van Rijn told Thursday that rehearsals had become a lot more exciting now that there were not only white actors on the floor, but also coloured and differently abled actors. He reported that the impact was unexpected. For instance, it was clearly different to rehearse during Ramadan, when you also have collaborators in the company who want to follow religious rules during the long summer days.
Black schools
Yet another part of the theatre world has long been 'diverse'. Youth and youth theatre not only has very colourful ensembles, diversity is also taken for granted in the audience of high school students. Bernadette Stokvis of Rotterdam's youth theatre house Maas revealed during the NAPK symposium that in youth theatre, it makes perfect sense to engage with the audience as a maker. In fact, she argued, colour no longer plays a role in performances. The audience is as diverse as the actors. Then, of course, there is the issue that a performance will do differently at a black school in Amsterdam than at a white school in Zutphen.
The fact remains, all those present agreed, that everyone is in their own bubble, and that leaders and creators in established art theatre have no idea of the wants and desires, let alone the supply and quality thereof, in the culturally diverse part of the Netherlands. There is a lack of knowledge and communication. But of course, this was already evident from the fact that two identical meetings had been organised without any contact.
Call for authors
And speaking of communication: this platform also suffers from whiteness. Now this is difficult to control, because I have no paid work to offer, nor can I have a corresponding personnel policy. Authors who publish on Culture Press have to make 99 per cent of their income from the loose sales via the Blendle button have. For the rest, it would be nice if more orders and subscriptions would come from the more diverse part of the Netherlands.
Nevertheless, this does extend a warm invitation to people from culturally diverse backgrounds to also start taking advantage of the opportunities of this currently white platform. I am ready.
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