The low-threshold theatre with which festivals like Amsterdam Fringe, Café Theatre Festival Utrecht and Delft Fringe reach new audiences is not something you put together quickly. The three young makers of Dystopia prove that. They make their performance alongside their paid work as theatre teachers, playwrights and production managers. Fleur Mennega, Mathijs Demper and Myrthe Ligtenberg say they are making "performances that are a mix between 'soft' science fiction theatre and interactive zap cabaret. They aim for raunchy dialogue, dark humour and recognisable pain points in a dystopian setting."

Digital developments

But how do you do it? A week before premiering in Delft as the opening performance of Delft Fringe 2025, they try out their text in front of a small audience in Utrecht. The work catches on. Afterwards, we speak to each other. We then talk about the name, Dystopia. That's not very cheerful, is it? "I do feel like we live in a pretty dystopian world already.", Mathijs says: "When you see how much surveillance there is. And how your work changes because of all the digital developments. 1984 was nothing like it." "Technology is moving faster than people's social behaviour can keep up", adds Fleur.

The creators regularly consult experts and scientists in their work. They do this to deepen their work, but also to keep it understandable. Fleur explains: "We also do everything from a humorous point of view to make it relatable and appeal to a larger audience."

That larger audience is important to them. They don't fancy theatre that is only for theatre lovers with experience. That's why they also play at Delft Fringe, says Fleur: "I hope that we make the audience's voice heard. We are really concerned with what is going on in society and how we bring that to the stage. This keeps theatre manageable for everyone and not just for a certain possible elite group that often goes to the theatre."

Gorge

She explains that it "very dangerous to make theatre for other theatre makers or theatre people." "I think you're going to get an immense gap because of that. I mean, people don't go to the theatre so easily now. And I also understand if someone then goes to the theatre and then also sees something they can't relate to at all, because it's a kind of theatre language you don't know, that they're not going to come back next time."

If the success continues, the makers of Dystopia would also like to see a real theatre inside, Mathijs says: "Precisely because we have played location theatre at so many different locations and have really consciously avoided the Black Box, the theatre hall, I do see it as a very interesting challenge to now, after four years of experience, seek out that very theatre hall and approach it as a location after all. To break open that black box. That you might also let the audience be more part of the performance instead of hiding behind the fourth wall."