Drama, dance and martial arts come together in a daring mix in this contemporary retelling of the age-old Bible story about the intense love between Samson and Delilah. But what if that love turns into control, if devotion suffocates and if brawn becomes a deadly weapon?
With the new show Samson & (a little) Delilah theatre group Alum, directed by Jaike Belfor, exposes the painful mechanisms of toxic relationships. Rejection, jealousy and coercive control create a smouldering dynamic that almost has to lead to a fateful end. In Samson & (a little) Delilah we meet Samson (played by Jeroen van Arkel) as a charming, funny and charismatic man. A self-proclaimed “God's gift’ and entertainer pur sang. As an audience, you fall for his charms, until it slowly becomes clear that his love is not about connection, but only about power. Delilah, whose voice we only hear on Samson's voicemail (Nadia Amin), is beautiful and smart and loyal to her people. But how far does loyalty to your people or your partner extend, and when does love become possession?
Erik Snel's text is reinforced by the two dancers (Adam Khazhmuradov and Naïma Souhaïr) who switch effortlessly between dance and martial arts. Jaike Belfor,known as an actor in a.o. Cell Block H, Mocro Mafia and Deep Shit and of her participation in The Smartest Man, strikes a strikingly contemporary tone with her first directorial effort for Alum. This collaboration transforms the story as we know it, of the resistance fighter against the Philistines, Samson with the long hair, who is betrayed by the spy Delilah, into a horrific battle fuelled by power, fear, control and resistance, in which the relationship between men and women is put on edge.
For centuries, we have been telling each other the same stories: fairy tales, folk tales, stories from mythology. But what happens when we switch perspectives. If we examine not the behaviour of Delilah as the treacherous temptress, but that of the God-sent freedom fighter Samson? Viewed from her people, we then see an extremely aggressive fighting machine who does not look at a victim more or less and has his eye on one of them, Delilah.
Samson controls everything. His life, his muscles and his long hair. But his girlfriend Delilah is not so easily controlled. Samson is visibly struggling with her need for freedom and her loyalty to her own people? Can their fiery relationship withstand the poison of jealousy? When does love turn into possessiveness? What happens when trust disappears? Can you free yourself without betraying the other? And who decides what is true?
Samson & (a little) Delilah is a martial dance about land and love, but also a mirror of our times. The performance reveals how an intense love affair can quietly turn into a violent obsession.
Credits
Directed Jaike Belfor Text Erik Snel Dance Adam Khazhmuradov & Naïma Souhaïr Voice Delilah Nadia Amin Game Jeroen van Arkel Music composition Dizzi Geetha Directing assistant Lela Kwakernaak & Elisa Rader Design Timo Arling Lighting design Bogi Bakker Brazilian Jiu Jitsu coach Duane van Helvoirt Photography Miek Uittenhout Graphic design Dutch masters Sale All for the Arts Scenic photography Sanne Peper Technology Jimmie Feld & Charlie Feld
Playlist
2025
18 Dec to 28 December - Theater Kikker Utrecht
2026
9 Jan - SPOT / Machinefabriek, Groningen
16 Jan - Theatre Walhalla, Rotterdam
24 Jan - Chassé Theatre, Breda
27 Jan - Het Nationale Theater, The Hague
10 Feb - De Goudse Schouwburg, Gouda
11 Feb - Schouwburg, Amstelveen
13 Feb - Theater Ins Blau, Leiden
18 Feb - C. punt Theatre, Hoofddorp
19 Feb - Posthuis Theatre, Heerenveen
20 Feb - MIMIK, Deventer
4 Mar - Bijlmer Parktheater, Amsterdam
5 Mar - Schouwburg Concertzaal, Tilburg
7 Mar - Podium Hoge Woerd, Utrecht
12 Mar - De Lieve Vrouw, Amersfoort
13 Mar - Theater Bellevue, Amsterdam
14 Mar - Theater Bellevue, Amsterdam
15 Mar - Stadsschouwburg, Utrecht
16 Mar - Stadsschouwburg, Utrecht
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