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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.

Genevieve Murphy, composer and theatrical performer: 'I like music with rhythm, feeling and drive. Music that makes me dance.' #novembermusic

'I have a special relationship with my stuff. It has to do with certain emotional experiences in my life.' With "The Spot Where I Find Myself", Genevieve Murphy (Scotland, 1988) breaks new ground in exploring her potential as a composer, musician, but above all, a theatrical performer. Those who have been following Murphy for a few years have already noticed her versatility,... 

Read More "Genevieve Murphy, composer and theatrical performer: 'I like music with rhythm, feeling and drive. Music that makes me dance.' #novembermusic

Why you wish every artist peace of Camiel Corneille #festivalcircolo

There he sits, at the top, enjoying the view. Camiel Corneille has just conquered his own work, a hellish instrument made of a four-by-four wooden plate that can turn in all directions except the right one. A moving balance beam that can also give you a big whack. Camiel Corneille designed it himself and tackles the thing... 

Read More "Why you wish every artist peace of Camiel Corneille #festivalcircolo

Identity and diversity in circus: not hype but fascinating innovation #festivalcircolo

Nick van der Heyden, queer circus performer, garnered approving laughter from a room full of circus students in Tilburg. He just explained that he had found a new lease of life by doing his performances as an acrobat from now on as a drag queen. 'They thought something of that here at school. There, the new circus was mainly a matter of making it as simple as possible... 

Read More "Identity and diversity in circus: not hype but fascinating innovation #festivalcircolo

Jesse Huygh balances high level with cystic fibrosis #festivalcircolo

When, at the end of his performance, he stands on top of a five-metre high pole, struggling to keep his balance, the audience holds its breath. As does Jesse himself, but he does not do so voluntarily. We watched him struggle for a performance with oxygen hoses and blood meters, pausing regularly to get air again. What if... 

Read More "Jesse Huygh balances high level with cystic fibrosis #festivalcircolo

We need to handle our last days differently, that much is made clear by POW-WOW by Minou Bosua. 

We die too late. Most of the time. After all, nobody wants to spend the last years of life leaking in a nursing home, cared for by ever-changing staff who do their stinking best but are incapable of the love that children, or close friends for want of it, could give. Better a pill than dementia, we say, but then you have to say 'Yes! 

Read More "We need to handle our last days differently, that much is made clear by POW-WOW by Minou Bosua. 

'I Say Sorry' masterfully makes tangible what a madness our slavery past is.  

Saying sorry seems to be difficult, if the songs about it are to be believed, and if we measure the time it takes Dutch governments to do it. But sorry is also very easy, if you consider how often you are not pushed aside in the queue for something or other, after the word 'sorry' has sounded behind you, or -... 

Read More "'I Say Sorry' masterfully makes tangible what a madness our slavery past is.  

'Sprouting dance on a bed of grass and sedum' - Carefull Art puts Utrecht artists on a very special map

"Over the past two-and-a-half years, I have started making choices. Where ten years ago I thought of going into life as a dance teacher, now the question is: do I really want to? What makes me happy, what do I want to share with the people around me?" For Lotte Willemsma, the first two years of the Corona pandemic were... 

Read More "'Sprouting dance on a bed of grass and sedum' - Carefull Art puts Utrecht artists on a very special map

I was in Sander Schimmelpenninck's country and didn't just see fascists

Almelo has been on the map for a few years now thanks to theatre. I went to see Van Katoen en Water on Thursday, an open-air spectacle with well-timed downpour and a full-moon rise like you can only experience in the almost gentrified old-industrial heart of Twente's poorest city. Mashed potatoes were served beforehand, with a johmas salad. Wine flowed profusely. In... 

Read More "I was in Sander Schimmelpenninck's country and didn't just see fascists

This bizarre labour dispute in Zeeland is just the tip of the iceberg

Alex Mallems, the artistic director who put Zeeland on the map in this century (since 2001), has left both the Zeeland Nazomer festival and its associated production house Zeelandia. This is the outcome of a protracted conflict with the business director appointed since last year, Sylvie Dees. According to a report in Theaterkrant, according to Dees, he would 'without permission make commitments... 

Read More "This bizarre labour dispute in Zeeland is just the tip of the iceberg

Disgusting image or boomer panic? Amsterdam Fringe Festival causes a stir with campaign image

Sommige dingen die vroeger leuk waren, kunnen nu niet meer. Dingen als roken in de klas, posters van David Hamilton op de studentenkamer, vrouwen onderbetalen, autorijden met een fles jenever achter de kiezen,  you name it. Deze week kwam daar een interessant relletje bij. Het Amsterdam Fringe Festival, het ondeugende zusje van het Nederlands Theaterfestival, koos een campagnebeeld dat, naar… 

Read More "Disgusting image or boomer panic? Amsterdam Fringe Festival causes a stir with campaign image

What I learned from Alida Dors and the Dutch Playwriting Prize

Of the 122 stage texts read by the jury of the Dutch Toneelschrijfprijs, just under 30 were written by female authors. In a field where the number of female workers is huge, this is striking. Because, the jury rightly stated, in written Dutch theatre, the male gaze is still dominant. While the theatre audience percentage-wise more women... 

Read More "What I learned from Alida Dors and the Dutch Playwriting Prize

Lessons from Weimar (2): how in Germany politics and art celebrate an uneasy marriage.

"The government is demanding that we only show artists from our own region. That would be a huge drain for us, because we are an international art space. But we have found a way around it. We now invite top international artists who live here, or we offer them a residency, so they live in the city temporarily. That way, ... 

Read More "Lessons from Weimar (2): how in Germany politics and art celebrate an uneasy marriage.

Een klimaatcode voor de kunsten? De vinkjes hebben het al moeilijk genoeg!

“Wij geloven stellig dat een goed ontwikkelde en breed geïmplementeerde Code Cultuur, Klimaat & Milieu de werelden van kunst, cultuur en creatie helpt om hun rol te pakken binnen het urgentste vraagstuk van deze tijd. Die rol is er een van sociale innovatie en creativiteit in dienst van de kunsten, maar ook in dienst van de maatschappij en een leefbare… 

Read More "Een klimaatcode voor de kunsten? De vinkjes hebben het al moeilijk genoeg!

Kunstfest Weimar opens with commemoration of Buchenwald concentration camp. Why this is important for us too

“Dat we de huidige herinneringscultuur ongemakkelijk vinden, vindt zijn oorzaak al in het begrip ‘herinneren’. In de strikte zin van het woord kunnen we ons immers alleen iets herinneren wat we zelf hebben meegemaakt. Maar wat moeten zestienjarige scholieren zich herinneren wanneer ze de gedenkplaats van Buchenwald bezoeken? Op hen komt de oproep om zich iets te herinneren wat zelfs… 

Read More "Kunstfest Weimar opens with commemoration of Buchenwald concentration camp. Why this is important for us too

The most revealing summer festival: theatre festival Boulevard 2022 in Den Bosch

It could be because of the weather, or my mood, but 2022 was one of the best editions of Theatre Festival Boulevard I have experienced in decades. From the interesting, and also a little disruptive opening to the final night, which I experienced yesterday, I saw guts, passion and pushed boundaries. Not everywhere all at once, but... 

Read More "The most revealing summer festival: theatre festival Boulevard 2022 in Den Bosch

Two Rotterdammers who made a deep impression at Theatre Festival Boulevard #tfboulevard

John Buijsman and Helmert Woudenberg make a very funny duo. Buijsman the archetypal Rotterdammer, certainly also in terms of tone of voice, but also the actor who is role-steady, playing distinct characters. In De Recreanten, a play he made for and about his own holiday resort in Hoek van Holland, he plays together with Helmert Woudenberg. The creator of continuous improvisation has a... 

Read More "Two Rotterdammers who made a deep impression at Theatre Festival Boulevard #tfboulevard

Podcast! Edition 2022 bathes in summer heat and finds a new heart (lyrically? Yes.) #tfboulevard

We take stock halfway through this edition of Theatre Festival Boulevard in Den Bosch. Host Wijbrand Schaap does so together with Dana Kibbelaar, since this year a member of the two-headed management (with Tessa Smeulers), writer and journalist Jowi Schmitz, dance critic Helen Westerik, and makers Oscar Kocken and Jellie Schippers. We talk about what is so special about... 

Read More "Podcast! Edition 2022 bathes in summer heat and finds a new heart (lyrically? Yes.) #tfboulevard

With Theatre Festival Boulevard looking for a way out of the crisis of two-year restriction #tfboulevard

It was a bit much of a good thing, but the closeness of so many happy people in a small room, with no air conditioning but enthusiastically sweating dancers, was nice to experience. It's called 'Out of the Box' and is being danced and acrobatched together by The100hands from Breda during the Bossche Theatre Festival Boulevard. A performance for people from... 

Read More "With Theatre Festival Boulevard looking for a way out of the crisis of two-year restriction #tfboulevard

Boulevard opens in the midst of the zeitgeist with welcome discomfort and an ode to fake news #tfboulevard

For a while it looked like we had walked into a live version of The Square, but it was just the official opening performance of Theatre Festival Boulevard in Den Bosch. Now, that festival is miles away from the self-absorbed elitist art world that is rocked by a human gorilla act completely out of control in that Danish film, but uncomfortable was... 

Read More "Boulevard opens in the midst of the zeitgeist with welcome discomfort and an ode to fake news #tfboulevard

Podcast. Theatre Festival Boulevard prepares for grand edition: 'We have to keep looking for each other'

'We are used to thinking in extremes. It is still the only way to be heard. Loud action is the only thing that matters anymore, it seems. Therefore, we have to be careful to remain curious about where that action comes from, what desire there is. That personal attention is needed, to crawl under that actionism 

Read More "Podcast. Theatre Festival Boulevard prepares for grand edition: 'We have to keep looking for each other'

Getting rich off corona: Rick Engelkes makes a bid for top prize with non-existent musical

Nice scoop from the Noord Hollands Dagblad today. Rick Engelkes, the perpetually wobbly soap opera actor who learnt the trade as a successful producer at Joop van den Ende, devised a musical that was never performed because of coronasteun. It earned him millions. Read the story here. Tl;dr: Engelkes announced in 2020 that he was working on a musical to... 

Read More "Getting rich off corona: Rick Engelkes makes a bid for top prize with non-existent musical

Rotterdam heading for 'new triangular relationship' with culture

There has been quite a lot going on around Rotterdam's Arts and Culture Council recently. For instance, based on a ramshackle investigation, to say the least, the alderman had rather bluntly decided to abolish the independent advisory body. It is too self-serving for his officials. His decision was debated at length at a City Council meeting in late June. Redundant debate... 

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Peter Brook died. He gave theatre the ability to be universal

It was announced today that the great theatre innovator Peter Brook has died. He was 97 years old. In those years, he became one of the world's most influential directors and theatre innovators. He sought world-wide stories and told them through actors who were as diverse as the stories he told. I visited his theatre a few times,... 

Read More "Peter Brook died. He gave theatre the ability to be universal

Jelinek's Kein Licht offers extra suffocation in already dark times. #HF22

Actually, it was too bad to persevere. Perhaps I should indeed have followed my impulse to walk away hard, but I stayed with Kein Licht. Indeed, this play, written by Elfriede Jelinek, composed by Philippe Manoury and directed by Nicolas Stemann, was technically quite good. Only that little dog, I so did not like that. Animals and... 

Read More "Jelinek's Kein Licht offers extra suffocation in already dark times. #HF22

Perhaps we are all ready for low-incentive art

4 million Dutch people have a brain disorder. The Brain Foundation comes up with that figure in a campaign to make people more aware of the consequences of brain injury. Often that injury leads to extreme sensitivity to stimuli. Then loud noise, bright light or sharp smell is suddenly a big problem. People affected by these can find it difficult to go outside. That is why ... 

Read More "Perhaps we are all ready for low-incentive art

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