On Friday 4 November, ROUW, the latest work by theatre-maker Marte Boneschansker, will premiere at Plein Theater in Amsterdam-Oost. ROUW is a walk along places of loss. With headphones on, you follow a carefully mapped out route through the neighbourhood to listen to stories of mourning that correspond to the locations in question.
ROUW is about loss. About that which disappears and passes. About death, but also about broken relationships, lost friendships and the loss of jobs, bodies and landscapes. How do we deal with the end? How do we make more room for mourning?
With headphones on, you walk through Amsterdam East past places of loss. Listening to stories of local residents, you get very close to the mourning practice of these Amsterdammers. ROUW is a walking audio performance about that which is no more. Marte - who went through a mourning process herself last year - thus explores how, by mourning collectively, we can find comfort with each other.
The body keeps the score
Our body stores trauma, grief and fear: The body keeps the score. Through bodywork and movement, we can feel through and release those emotions. Yoga, dancing, but also something as simple as walking helps us grieve and process. Walking is thinking with your feet, giving something a place without language. Inspired by thinkers such as Bessel van der Kolk and Rebecca Solnit, ROUW is a walking experience in public space.
By having the audience walk during the performance, Marte explores how we can sharpen our senses from a physical experience to allow the stories to touch us more deeply. Vos van der Noordt's music creates a meditative, rhythmic cadence. As you walk, you listen to the grief practice of others and descend deeper into your own loss
Concept: Marte Boneschansker | Business leadership, sparring partner: Koosje Laan | Business management a.i.: Edgar Witteveen | Scenography: Katrijn Westland | Music: Vos van der Noordt | Implementation: Achref Adhadi, Vincent Brons, Nina-Elisa Euson | Sound design: Dennis Lock | Mixage: Arno Peters | Production: Jakob Proyer | Technical producer: Jorn Kortooms | Dramaturgy: Vincent Bronze | Directional assistance: Nina-Elisa Euson | Coupeuse: Syl van Duyn | Route advice: Hannegijs Jonker | Graphic design: Zuzanna Loch | Image: Viviane Sassen | Teaser: Saskia Habermann | Publicity: Nikla Katsburg | Community: Shayne McCreadie | Thanks to: all the people we spoke to, the participants of The Year of Mourning, Studio FCP, Carla van der Elst, Huis ten Bosch, Marianne Burgers, Andree Douglas and Rinus Brommer
The Year of Mourning
In prelude to the performance, March 2022 launched The Year of Mourning, a programme or women's community for everyone aged 18 and above focusing on the stages of mourning (denial, anger, bargaining, depression and anxiety). Using new and old rituals, she created space for shared loss and explored the different faces of mourning together with participants and various creative makers, such as OTION, Bart van de Woestijne and Joske de Koning. It proved to be a source of inspiration for the final performance. On the accompanying Instagram channel (@hetjaarvanrouw), you can see which guests and themes passed the revue. And also shares participants' grief stories.
About Marte
Marte Boneschansker makes one-to-one documentary experiential theatre. Armed with a microphone and in permanent collaboration with business director Koosje Laan, she develops intimate, physical audio works that straddle the line between theatre and installation.
Playing dates
From 4 to 27 November 2022
Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday
Premiere: Friday, November 4,
starts every 10 minutes between 16:00 - 19:00
Duration of walk: 90 minutes
Starting point: Plein Theater, Amsterdam-East
Tickets: www.plein-theater.nl
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