Who should make excuses for slavery past And what happens when excuses have been made?
Theatre group Alum and Raymi Sambo Makes jointly produce the theatre production I say sorry anyway on the history of slavery. The premiere is next June during Oerol. The summer will be followed by a theatre tour from September to December 2022. I say sorry anyway is an exciting fusion of history and current events. Six actors come together to re-enact the celebration of the abolition of slavery in 1863. It soon becomes clear that the actors do not always know how to handle their character's point of view, let alone the opinions of their colleagues.
About the show
Six actors come together to reenact the celebration of the abolition of slavery in 1863. What empathising with these historical characters does to the actors themselves, how they relate to the subject in this day and age, and whether it affects their relationships with each other, slowly and painfully becomes clear. What does it mean to say 'sorry' anno 2022 for something that seems so long ago?
At a time when more and more municipalities and organisations are openly apologising for the slavery past or having their own role in this period examined, Theatre Group Alum and Raymi Sambo are making I say sorry anyway. A performance about this shared history, in which the roles were and still are poignantly divided.
About the collaboration
Raymi Sambo and Victorine Plante were classmates at the Toneelschool in Utrecht.
Twenty-five years ago, they graduated and each went their separate ways. They met again at a reunion six years ago. Both now combine acting with artistic leadership of their own theatre company. Victorine at Alum and Raymi with Raymi Sambo Makes.
Alum made a historical triptych about the Eighty Years' War in 2014-2019, highlighting the flip side of well-known heroic stories. Partly because of this, Victorine developed a desire to create a performance with Raymi about the history of slavery and to what extent this past affects the present. Victorine: "I find it a great loss that I learned so little about this past at school. I could therefore quite easily keep this past at bay, literally at bay, that happened a long time ago. When I started looking into it, everything about this past turned out to be primal: the economic motives, the fear of paying for something, the fear of facing your past. I try with I say sorry anyway overcome this fear, no longer be afraid to admit that these pages are pitch black. I also say sorry. For keeping it at bay for so long."
Alum made a historical triptych about the Eighty Years' War in 2014-2019, highlighting the flip side of well-known heroic stories. Partly because of this, Victorine developed a desire to create a performance with Raymi about the history of slavery and to what extent this past affects the present. Victorine: "I find it a great loss that I learned so little about this past at school. I could therefore quite easily keep this past at bay, literally at bay, that happened a long time ago. When I started looking into it, everything about this past turned out to be primal: the economic motives, the fear of paying for something, the fear of facing your past. I try with I say sorry anyway overcome this fear, no longer be afraid to admit that these pages are pitch black. I also say sorry. For keeping it at bay for so long."
The text
Erik Snel (Aluin) wrote the theatre text in close collaboration with Ayden Carlo (Raymi Sambo Makes). To create the text, they used such diverse historical sources as: "Wij slaven van Suriname" by Anton de Kom, "De geschiedenis van Slavernij" by Dick Harisson, "Dagen van gejuich en gejubel" by Glen Willemsen. Books such as "Hello white people" by Anousha N'zume, "White innocence" by Gloria Wekker and "Utrecht and the history of slavery" by Nancy Jouwe also underpin this text. In addition, extensive use has been made of podcasts, columns, novels and personal conversations.
Playing period
I say sorry anyway will premiere during Oerol on Terschelling in June 2022. From September to December, the show can be seen in theatres in the Netherlands. The playlist can be found at raymisambomaakt.com/ikzegtochsorry. Ticket sales for Oerol will start on Saturday 28 May. Ticket sales for the tour will start between mid-May and mid-June.
credits:
concept Raymi Sambo and Victorine Plante direction Victorine Plante text Erik Snel with Ayden Carlo and Raymi Sambo game Gabby Bakker, Dennis Coenen, Rochelle Deekman, Urmie Plein, Raymi Sambo, Nard Verdonschot set design Marcel Dolman costume design Anouk van Schie lighting design Claus den Hartog directional assistance Shabnam Baqhiri production Inez van der Werf, Eva Hermus, Noa Berndsen (internship)
English (UK) 
Nederlands 
Français 
