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Wijbrand Schaap

Cultural journalist since 1996. Worked as theatre critic, columnist and reporter for Algemeen Dagblad, Utrechts Nieuwsblad, Rotterdams Dagblad, Parool and regional newspapers through Associated Press Services. Interviews for TheaterMaker, Theatererkrant Magazine, Ons Erfdeel, Boekman. Podcast maker, likes to experiment with new media. Culture Press is called the brainchild I gave birth to in 2009. Life partner of Suzanne Brink roommate of Edje, Fonzie and Rufus. Search and find me on Mastodon.

Opening #TF2010: 'Theatre should be at the forefront of discussion on society, instead of being dictated to by prevailing mores.'

On 2 September 2010, actress, writer, theatre and television producer Joan Nederlof opened the Dutch Theatre Festival with a speech that was as entertaining as it was provocative. As it was her turn to pronounce the annual 'State of the Theatre', Nederlof, born in 1962, seized the opportunity to call on her own generation to take a stand in the social debate. She did so in her own relatable way, known for her roles on TV (Deer Park) and in the theatre (Inside Out):

Read More "Opening #TF2010: 'Theatre should be at the forefront of discussion on society, instead of being dictated to by prevailing mores.'

Benjamin Verdonck opens Flemish Theatre Festival: artists must be environmentally aware #tf2010

We had completely forgotten about the environment. While the streets in the Netherlands are flooded and some Dutch people are already talking about Pakistani conditions, here the talk is mainly about looming austerity measures and disintegrating Christian Democrat power blocks. 'Artists of today must relate to environmental issues' is therefore a comment we do not expect to hear from an artist in the Netherlands. We... 

Read More "Benjamin Verdonck opens Flemish Theatre Festival: artists must be environmentally aware #tf2010

This is my father: flaming stab at anti-Semitism to be seen on #tf2010

In This is my father, young theatre-maker Ilay den Boer (1986) literally puts his own father in the spotlight. He does so by giving his father the lead role in a performance that is all about him. This results in intimate and voyeuristic theatre.
Before the performance, you will be given a booklet describing the life of Gert den Boer. Based on dates and events, visitors can ask questions to the men on stage. Father and son answer, open doors and tell anecdotes. But what if it turns out that they handle some events very differently? Where Jewish Ilay sees signs of anti-Semitism, his own reformed father recognises an innocent incident. How differently do father and son view issues like discrimination or hatred?

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Branden: legendary top theatre to be seen again in Amsterdam #tf2010

The destructive power of war and hatred

Writer Wajdi Mouawad (b. 1968) fled his native Lebanon at the age of nine. At the time, a brutal civil war had been raging there for years. Together with his family, he ended up in Canada via France.

There, he develops into an internationally renowned playwright. His work is now performed all over the world. The Ro Theatre introduced Mouawad to the Netherlands for the first time this theatre season.

Director Alize Zandwijk chose the play Fires and puts on a bold and convincing version. Assisted by a talented cast of actresses and actors. You see the mother Nawal Marwan and her twins Jeanne and Simon. Nawal is dying.

Read More "Branden: legendary top theatre to be seen again in Amsterdam #tf2010

Spektakelgroep Vis à Vis geeft alle ruimte aan de fantasie en overtreft zichzelf in droomspektakel Silo8

Vliegende verpleegsters. Daar kijken we niet meer van op. We hebben allemaal Mary Poppins gezien. Dat ze bij Vis a Vis, bij het strand van Almere, in plaats van onzichtbare touwtjes een vijftig meter hoge bouwkraan inzetten voor zo’n speciale opkomst is dan spectaculair en leuk, maar meer ook niet. Kwestie van geld en middelen. De volgende show heeft wel… 

Read More "Spektakelgroep Vis à Vis geeft alle ruimte aan de fantasie en overtreft zichzelf in droomspektakel Silo8

A Don Giovanni without Don before it, without scruples and without illusions, but with a few naked women. #hf10

 Door Wijbrand Schaap Eens in de zoveel tijd staat er een theaterregisseur op die de leegte om zich heen aan de kaak wil stellen. Dat het om de leegte in hem (of haar) zelf gaat, daar komt deze jonge regisseur meestal een jaar of twintig later achter, als die eenmaal wat minder leeg geworden is. Zo gaan die dingen. We… 

Read More "A Don Giovanni without Don before it, without scruples and without illusions, but with a few naked women. #hf10

Shukshin's Stories: a 'gypsy boy-with-trane' painting by a grand master. #hf10

The Russian soul. So there is something about that. And you get something from that when you see a Chekhov play (if done well), or read one of his short stories. Or when you read the works of Tolstoi, Dostoevsky or any other inhabitant of that vast nothingness east of Poland. Or seeing the paintings, which a few... 

Read More "Shukshin's Stories: a 'gypsy boy-with-trane' painting by a grand master. #hf10

Teleac course on muezzin singing delivers little deeper insight #hf10

 Above, fun audio from the Holland Festival. We went to watch and listen at this performance. Afterwards, we talked to actor Sabri Saad el Hamus and reviewer Martin Schouten. They had their own views on this play, which was announced as follows: Cairo is the city with thirty thousand minarets. Here you can hear five times a day above the... 

Read More "Teleac course on muezzin singing delivers little deeper insight #hf10

Battle of the hashtags: Harmony Festival, Ca vs Holland Festival, Nl #hf10

 Fortunately, there is a considerable time difference between Santa Monica and Amsterdam, but for a while there was a threat of considerable confusion when the organisers of the three-day Harmony Festival thought they could reserve the hashtag #hf10 for themselves. However, since the first twitters, yesterday, things have been quiet in California, as they have discovered that Holland Rulez where trending topics are concerned.... 

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Meanwhile at the Holland Festival: Press cheers over Dog's Heart and doubts Anne Therese de Keersemaeker #hf10

 Not all was negative around Sam Mendes' Bridge Project, which was received rather sparingly by us at The Dodo, and a few other media outlets. Apart from a few positive Twitter reactions, the performance of The Tempest also garnered a pretty nice review from Volkskrant reviewer Karin Veraart, who admired music, directorial discoveries and acting performances by Stephen Dillane in particular and the fresh couple... 

Read More "Meanwhile at the Holland Festival: Press cheers over Dog's Heart and doubts Anne Therese de Keersemaeker #hf10

Thanks to Elfriede Jelinek, since 9 June we know a little better what it is like to be Austrian. #hf10

 By Wijbrand Schaap (photo by Arno Declair) Since Wednesday 9 June 2010, the Netherlands has resembled Austria a bit more, although with us the mountains are in the southeast, instead of the west. And there's another difference: we are still allowed to see the stage work of Austrian Nobel laureate Elfriede Jelinek, while the stern writer's work in her... 

Read More "Thanks to Elfriede Jelinek, since 9 June we know a little better what it is like to be Austrian. #hf10

What the papers say: the music is fine, as usual on #hf10

 Martijn Padding has done something special with Beethoven's 10th. He turned the piece that the deaf composer never really wrote in its entirety into an experience that, as Volkskrant reviewer Frits van der Waa put it, made you feel what it sounded like between Beethoven's ears. According to the NRC, it sounded Impressive: the sphere of creation stripped of all heroism, as if you were passing through two centuries of... 

Read More "What the papers say: the music is fine, as usual on #hf10

Despite Dillane's splendid role, soporific Tempest shows failure of Sam Mendes' Bridge Project #hf10

 By Wijbrand Schaap (photo by Joan Marcus) You can have Bach's St Matthew Passion performed by 15 canaries, an electric guitar, a drum kit, a ukulele and a accordion, and it will still be beautiful, because it is Bach. Similarly, you can have Shakespeare's up-and-coming British plays performed by a group of Americans, and it will... 

Read More "Despite Dillane's splendid role, soporific Tempest shows failure of Sam Mendes' Bridge Project #hf10

As You Like It despite brilliant jokes and fantastic Bob Dylan impersonation still a long sit #hf10

 By Wijbrand Schaap, Photo Joan Marcus So we don't have that. In the Netherlands. So many good actors of name and fame to fill an entire Shakespeare comedy with top actors, right down to the smallest edelfiguration. Ok, we come a long way with our Pierre Bokma's, our Gijs Scholten van Aschats, a Lineke Rijxman, Mariek Heebink and Ariane Schluter, and flat Elsie de... 

Read More "As You Like It despite brilliant jokes and fantastic Bob Dylan impersonation still a long sit #hf10

Queen makes up for absence from opening at Rameau's Pygmalion #hf10

 State visits are hard to adjust to the cultural agenda, and when the Queen then misses her opening of the Holland Festival because of a visit to Norway planned years before, it is force majeure. And not anything else, though of course in these politically confused times it remains delightful to speculate on other reasons why the Majesty was absent from Amal... 

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Amal Maher breaks hearts at opening Holland Festival #hf10

Valhalla. Someone called it, and indeed: Valhalla. I don't mean the Teutonic version of the Eternal Hunting Fields then, but Miss Asterix and Obelix. Egyptian style. You may colour in the picture yourself with dark curls, unimaginably flawless skin made of very creamy milk chocolate, and that then set on a pair of hidden heels and strapped into a corset that accentuates everything of value. So Amal Maher is one of those women for whom a man will gladly put his chimes at the disposal of science, if it gives him the privilege of being around her for a few moments.

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