Celebrate the power of the performing arts at ZID Theatre during National Theatre Weekend 2026

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During the National Theatre Weekend, the whole of the Netherlands gets the chance to experience the power of performing arts and discover new venues and performances. ZID Theatre in Amsterdam also traditionally joins in, presenting a rich, groundbreaking programme that fits seamlessly with ZID's mission: to make theatre in all its forms accessible to everyone. For three days

For three days, the theatre will feature international makers from Italy and Belgium, local talent, interactive experiences and intimate storytelling you won't want to miss. Each day offers an exciting fringe programme that deepens the main programme and actively takes you, the visitor, into diverse worlds of dance, theatre, soundscapes and experimentation.

On Friday, ZID Theatre opens with On the Edge: a sensory journey full of dreams, humour and confusion, followed by the Dutch premiere of Mother, an international dance performance by Italian collective Perypezye Urbane in which body and artificial intelligence meet. Saturday and Sunday are dedicated to young talent and personal stories, with inspiring fringe programmes and the co-production Missing & Wishing, in which loss, longing and hope come together in intimate solos.

A weekend to discover, feel and be surprised.

FRIDAY 23 January Fringe programme On the Edge - ZID Theatre
Main programme dance & AI performance Mother, Italy

Friday 23 January 2026 | 19.45

Prior to the dance performance Mother, ZID Theatre, directed by Karolina Spaić, will take you on an adventurous journey full of surprises, challenging you to push the edge. Together with regular performers like Nivin Baranbo, Daan Bosch and Sebo Bakker and special guests, you will discover worlds full of dreams and idiosyncrasies. Get carried away by dance, theatre, soundscapes and installations that stimulate your senses. Sometimes moving, sometimes confusing, sometimes funny, but always magical.

Concept and direction: Karolina Spaić | Performers: Sebo Bakker, Nivin Baranbo, Daan Bosch, Dora Draghi, Issam Zemmouri | Soundscape: Jera Topolovec

Mother - Perypezye Urbane, Italy

Friday 23 January 2026 | 20:30

Can ancient rituals and modern innovation combine to create new myths? You can find out in the Dutch premiere of the dance performance by Italian collective Perypezye Urbane, in which dance and AI merge in fascinating ways.

Mother is no ordinary dance performance, but an exploration of the relationship between the body and artificial intelligence: a world where the human and the digital intersect. Here, movement and algorithms merge, physical presence and virtual experience. Mother explores the fields of tension and possibilities of this digital age: from dreams and fears to new rituals.

Direction and project coordination: Giovanni Sabelli Fioretti | Creative Production: Giuseppe Esposito | Dance and choreography: Marianna De Vito and Maia Joseph

Read more about Perypezye Urbane here
Read more about Mother here

Saturday 24 January 2026 | 20.30 with a fringe theatre programme beforehand: students Nova College MBO Theatre Haarlem
Sunday 25 January 2026 | 16.30 with a dance programme beforehand: Carita Mirella Adiegah

Main programme: Missing & Wishing - ZID Theatre, NL & Madam Fortuna, Belgium

On Saturday and Sunday, Missing & Wishing is on the programme, a co-production by ZID Theater (Amsterdam) and Madam Fortuna (Antwerp). Six young makers from both cities perform short solos that bring together loss, longing and hope. With theatre, spoken word, dance and soundscapes, they create a mosaic of personal stories: vulnerable, direct and recognisable.

The performances reveal what is bubbling under the surface in the lives of the makers: dreams that give hope, memories that chafe and desires that offer direction. Missing & Wishing is an intimate journey through worlds that come alive in words, images and movement.

Concept: Hussein Al-Khalidi (MF) | Directed: Bea Van den Berg (MF) & Sebo Bakker (ZID) | Makers and execution: Amanda Lee, Dora Draghi, Jera Topolovec, Rosina Lui (ZID) & Imrane Akajjoua, Gloria Abena Biney (MF)

Tickets cost only €10 and are available at www.zidtheater.nl. Neighbourhood residents from the Kolenkit neighbourhood get a €2.50 discount, as do students and CJP members.

The programme at ZID Theatre during the National Theatre Weekend has come about thanks to, among others, Gemeente Amsterdam (West), Fonds voor Cultuurparticipatie, The EU-funded Erasmus + Youth Programme, and the National Theatre Fund as well as cultural partners such as Madam Fortuna and Perypezye Urbane. The tour of Mother was made possible by SIAE (The Italian Association of Authors and Publishers) and the Italian Ministry of Culture.