Which theatre text will be named the best Dutch-language work of 2023? The jury announces today the four nominations of the Toneelschrijfprijs 2024: BOG.2 From SNB, The Story of Travis By Esther Duysker, Time will tell us Of Romana Peace and Singer without people by Giovanni Brand. The Toneelschrijfprijs 2024 awards the author of an original Dutch-language play first performed in 2023. The winner will be announced on 4 April at the Shakespeare is dead festival in Amsterdam.
Inventiveness at the writing tables
The jury of the Toneelschrijfprijs 2024 - consisting of reviewer Els Van Steenberghe, writer and lawyer Rachida Lamrabet and writer and teacher Thomas Verbogt - selected the nominated texts from 68 entries that were first performed in the Kingdom of the Netherlands or Flanders in 2023.
"The sometimes bewildering times we live in require urgency, virtuosity and inventiveness at the writing table. This is evident in the texts, which gave insights into living under the blast furnaces of the steel factory in Velsen-Noord; investing in water houses; being enslaved in Zeeland or not being seen as human in the country you fled to. The state of the world does not make one happy. But in the conference office, the jury was mostly made happier. Thanks to the texts. And above all, the way these texts made the world a little more understandable and therefore better," said jury president Els Van Steenberghe.
From the jury report
The jury praised four distinctive stage texts, uniquely telling social themes and personal stories, each with its own voice and style. The quotes below from the jury report give an insight into the strength of the texts.
BOG.2 by BOG
"BOG.2 is a new attempt to restructure life. And, again, an attempt to spectacularly reinvent playwriting. This text is an elongated, tantalisingly poetic song to life. It is not a lament. Not a winner's song. It's a fantastic song that happens to you. This is rock 'n' roll without guitars or drums but with four pens that, like a rock concert, flood your heart with warmth as you experience EVERYTHING - bathing, baring, bursting, breaking, cycling, making love, falling."
The Story of Travis by Esther Duysker
"This is a wonderfully constructed piece with the allure of a novel. It interweaves the afterlife with the 'hereafter' to create a probing, constantly touching, intense but never fatalistic story. That story is about black Travis who leaves his hometown of Chicago and builds a new life in the Netherlands. At the age of 78, he visits the family grave in Chicago and looks back on his life. Brilliantly, the text embodies a social problem. Giving such problems a stage, literally and figuratively, is part of the solution."
Time will teach us from Romana Peace
"In this text, Romana Peace honours the heroes among the enslaved who rebelled against the slave trade. And she honours her mother. This looks like a narrative but is so compelling, comprehensive and written down with great care and sense of rhythm that you feel with every word: this is SO important. Nothing is expressed with a wisecracking finger but every word is obviously crucial in this crystal-clear, personal text."
Singer without people by Giovanni Brand
"Brand sets three fascinating, very recognisable characters in a uniquely idiosyncratic language. It is a language that shows with crystal clarity how the language you speak automatically 'divides' - or imprisons - you into a group. In that swirling, raw language, Brand makes his characters struggle with their backgrounds and their desire for a better place in society. What dominates is the emotion-soaked story that doesn't stop at the last sentence, written in that oh-so-vibrant language."
About the Playwriting Prize
The Toneelschrijfprijs aims to stimulate Dutch-language playwriting and the performance of Dutch-language plays. The winner receives a sum of 10,000 euro. The other nominees receive 1,000 euro each.
The Toneelschrijfprijs is a collaboration between Literatuur Vlaanderen, the Dutch Foundation for Literature, the Taalunie and Fonds Podiumkunsten and is co-sponsored by Sabam for Culture and deAuteurs. This year, the prize will be awarded during the Shakespeare is dead festival, organised by Vlaams Cultuurhuis de Brakke Grond and Theater Bellevue.
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