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PODIUM ART

Anything for which people enter a stage.

NTF Pro: professionals look for gripes at Dutch Theatre Festival.

Those who fear - by virtue of being white men or women - that the descendants of enslaved people are coming to punish them for being grossly at fault for the consequences of the now infamous VOC Mentality, can sleep a little more peacefully again. During the first day of the Dutch Theatre Festival, Thursday 2 September in Amsterdam, surprisingly conciliatory noises rang out when it came to... 

Nerd podcast s2a3: Guy Weizman talks to Wijbrand Schaap and Marijn Lems about The State of Theatre.

'We thought it would be a good idea, after a year and a half of misery, not to start immediately with the most critical perspective, but rather to emphasise how good it was to be together again.' In this podcast, Marijn Lems and Wijbrand Schaap look back with Guy Weizman at his 'State of the Theatre', the traditional opening of the... 

Anne Lise Kjaer, futurologist, special guest at The Dutch Theatre Festival: 'If everyone stays in their bubble nothing will happen.'

If you want to navigate in unfamiliar waters, it is good to take a map with you. My father was a fisherman, he hardly read, but that's what he told me. Now that I come to Amsterdam, that is also the first thing I do: make a map. What museums are there, is there a cool restaurant, is there new architecture? 

Nerd podcast with Jan Veldman, Marijn Lems and Wijbrand Schaap on theatre refusers and cabaret.

We're talking about the non-attending theatre. Because it was all about it last week at Theatre Festival Boulevard and then on social media following this post. One who spoke out very strongly about it was theatre and screenwriter Jan Veldman (including Theatre Group Jan Vos). 'I think thinking theatre is an elitist idea, and at least... 

Theatre Festival Boulevard provided a stage for the stories we hear too little. #tfboulevard

According to Linde van Schuppen, philosopher and linguist, medics do not really listen to people with psychosis. At least, they do listen to someone suffering from obvious delusions, but that is to establish that the person is indeed off the track. 'But, how then?" is the question a psychiatrist or neurologist is not trained to answer, she argues. That is why she is doing her PhD. 

Like the best clowns, Elias de Bruyne knows how to connect humour with existential angst. At Festival Boulevard #tfboulevard

One of the very best things about Festival Boulevard is the variety of programming. Theatre, dance, music, youth performances, mime, comedy, it all mixes together. And the festival offers just as much space to young makers as to the old hands. So you get a good overview of what the up-and-coming generation of theatre makers has to offer.... 

This year's Theatre Festival Boulevard feels greener than usual - and you'll notice it in the performances #tfboulevard

The permanent site of Boulevard's festival centre has largely turned into a construction site this year. This forced the organisers to move to Zuiderpark. Although this is a bit outside the city centre, it is much more spacious and green than the Parade square. It gives the festival a nice feeling of air, space and proximity to the... 

'You don't know where you stand.' Non-visitors of theatre make it clear where art goes wrong

The vast majority of Dutch adults never go to the theatre. Interestingly enough, the question among theatre people is never really about why people don't go to the theatre. After all, our arts sector is a supply market. At an art school, you are not trained to please the public, but to express your most individual emotion. And then preferably... 

For comfort in these dark times, you need John Buijsman. And Kees. #tfboulevard

Bosses start to look like their dogs. Or vice versa. Or owners like dogs who look like them. Or vice versa. Either way. If you want proof of this statement, rush to Theatre Festival Boulevard where John Buijsman plays the gem 'Cosmic Cowboy', assisted by Kees, a labradoodle. Or something that should pass for that. John Buijsman is one of the... 

A danced ode to a Polish harpsichordist - sounds inaccessible, but Jan Martens makes it compelling #tfboulevard

I have seen a lot of genre mash-ups in my lifetime. But I think a danced documentary about a musician was a first for me. The focus of choreographer Jan Martens in his new dance solo Elisabeth Gets Her Way is the famous harpsichordist Elisabeth Chojnacka. The Polish left for Paris at the age of 23. There she set her sights on... 

Benjamin Verdonck renews, for a moment, your view of the world. At Theatre Festival Boulevard #tfboulevard

One of the things that make Boulevard so special in the Dutch festival landscape is its generous focus on Belgian performances. Where Dutch theatres programme less and less work from across the southern borders, Boulevard continues to offer a stage to a large number of Belgian makers. Learning to live together This produces very varied work again this year. At the heart of the festival is... 

Nerd podcast #s2e1: On the necessary lightness of something heavy. A conversation about reviews and witches with Club Gewalt #tfboulevard

There is a huge amount happening in theatre, this summer, as many summer festivals have special corona editions where they show a lot of what was made in attic rooms last year during the forced closure of theatres. One such show was Die Hexe, by Club Gewalt, a fresh point theatre band/theatre collective that is/was showing at Theatre Festival Boulevard this summer. Nerd... 

Why laughter is best left to us more often: Joseph Toonga teaches theatre rage #tfboulevard

Think Pussy Riot, think Rammstein, maybe think Nina Hagen before she found Jesus and mix that up nice and fierce. Then you get something that is basically an insane festival act. Raging female punk in a beer- and smoke-soaked nightclub, ferocious moshpits full of people who really have something to dance out of their souls. It's all in there... 

Spielberg, #metoo and corona: Ivo van Hove's West Side Story does not survive crisis

It was supposed to be Ivo van Hove's big break on Broadway. And it was meant to be, but fate decided otherwise. It was announced today via US show news Variety that West Side Story, in Ivo van Hove's modern, raucous version, will not be revived. Despite a jubilant reception and virtually sold-out theatres,... 

PODCAST - Guilherme Miotto: the wait is always for it to start flowing. #tfboulevard

Guilherme Miotto is artistic director of Corpo Maquina, an extraordinary dance company based in Breda and Tilburg. This year, among other things, he is at Festival Boulevard in Den Bosch with the performance Tak. A performance, stemming from an earlier project in an urban district of Den Bosch. Six women he worked with there now form an ensemble with whom he... 

Boulevard makes you feel what white balls cause #tfboulevard

White balls are quite in the news, lately. For instance, they molest compatriots as a holiday pastime. Or they shout 'Snollebollekes' at a black champion. So the fact that white balls can also be fine is news. You can experience it at Festival Boulevard, where in a small, narrow tent, thousands of white Styrofoam balls, driven by huge fans, give you a fine massage shower,... 

Unaccustomedness was to be expected at this rare summer festival #TFBoulevard

For a year and a half, there was hardly any playing, festival tents remained in mothballs and artists were busy doing living room concerts or attic sessions on Zoom. Now everything is allowed out again and the discharge is just barely there. Unaccustomedness characterises the fresh start of Theatre Festival Boulevard, which has moved to a park south of downtown Bossche for the next few years,... 

PODCAST: Joseph Toonga at Theatre Festival Boulevard: 'My daughters help me bring empathy to Hiphop' (English)

This podcast is recorded in English. For those who do not speak the language, or who do not have time to listen to the full podcast, here are some quotes. 'Originally I didn't have a title. Someone came up with 'Born to' and then I thought it would be nice to put 'manifesto' after it. After all, it is about appearing,... 

PODCAST - Naomi Velissariou's permanent quest: 'I wonder if I should do interpretation or connection as an artist.'

Naomi Velissariou (1984) was actually supposed to be at the Bossche Festival Boulevard 2021 with more performances. This year, her entire trilogy 'Permanent Destruction' would be performed in a setting like club rave. Fierce musical theatre, based on playwrights Sarah Kane and Heiner Müller, and concluded with the more subdued work 'Pain against Fear'. All parts have received rave reviews from audiences and press, but... 

Boulevard experiences second Corona edition: 'It's organising a festival in the middle of a natural disaster. Nothing is business as usual'

Theatre festival Boulevard is going ahead this summer, just like last year. Everything is adapted to 'corona': safe at one-and-a-half metres, placarded, with registration for catering, but still just about a hundred performances. In this podcast, I speak to Nina Aalders and Tessa Smeulers, responsible for Boulevard's programming. They remained at the helm after the much-loved and... 

The NUT delivers splendour with Never Work Again.

On the day that Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of the world's Facebook, announced his launch to the 'Metaversum', in order to trounce his collegatechies Bezos, Musk and Branson, who had only had a little sniff of the Universe, I attended the performance 'Never work again' by the Nieuw Utrechts Toneel in Utrecht Leidsche Rijn. In these times of lockdown and... 

Dance history in action - Dance On Ensemble performs iconic works, with contemporary responses

That Julidans is experiencing a strong edition was actually already evident with the bold and delightful opening night. That performance invited you to think about what dance is. Making Dances - Dancing Replies makes you think about the same question, but in a very different way. Dance On Ensemble, the Berlin-based company with dancers over 40, performed works by... 

November Music 2021 receives international summit - November 5 to 14 in 's-Hertogenbosch

With the contemporary composers Kaija Saariaho and Rebecca Saunders, jazz pianists Brad Mehldau and Vijay Iyer, the groups Musikfabrik, The Gurdjeff Ensemble and Ensemble Modern and guitarist Julian Lage, festival November Music rolls out the red carpet for a great diversity of top international composers. There is also another Bosch Requiem, this time composed by Hawar Tawfiq and performed by philharmonie zuidnederland.... 

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