This episode, number 5 already in an increasingly well-listened-to podcast series, is about the future of theatre. A future after Corona, of course, but also the future as some theatre makers and journalists dream of it. For example, Marijn Lems (NRC) and Wijbrand Schaap (Culture Press) talk about Milo Rau, the high-profile artistic director of NTGent (Belgium). Who came a few years...
For the first time in almost a year, I feel like going to the theatre again. I am eager, soon, when the theatres are full again. That's thanks to this site's newsletter that I received in my mailbox yesterday. Until now, I was not looking forward to returning to a full theatre. Afraid of...
Wopke Hoekstra, would-be boss of the Netherlands, stood last week on the ice of an ice rink that was closed to all but Sven Kramer. Because of Corona. The CDA frontman received a justified storm of criticism. After Grapperhaus, the country's second top executive who thinks his own rules only apply to others. Last week, Laura van Dolron, played...
Even in corona time, there is plenty for a culture consumer to enjoy. Take last week. On Sunday (before the big snow started), my wife and I took a walk to downtown Amersfoort. There, a stall not only sells the city's tastiest Latte, but there are also a few....
On 24 December 2020, the provincial hearing and objection committee issued an opinion to the Provincial Executive of the province of North Brabant in response to eight submitted objections. Then -only a month later- on 26-1-2021, a communication dated 26-1-2021 from the Board of GS to Provincial Councils and a press release to the cultural institutions that submitted an application 2021-2024 appeared....
Maybe it's the snow, and my little dog that made me so happy. Maybe it's the sledding children in 'The Pit' of Lunetten, and maybe it's the lameness that creeps up on me after so many valiant attempts to keep up the fun of art in times of Corona. But I sat through the first minutes of VPRO's Onstage...
No making shows for a while as if nothing happened, but developing concepts, experimenting, boldly going where no one in this sector has dared to go so far (sorry, I watch a lot of Star Trek during the lockdown). That strikes me as an excellent use of grant money and could also bring back some momentum in these crappy times.
People will not be eager (in large numbers) to go to packed halls again. Many 'old' culture visitors can be considered lost. The cultural sector faces a twofold challenge: to minimise this loss and to look for new audiences even more than usual.
To get a subsidy in the Netherlands, you have to jump through a lot of hoops. Every farmer knows that, and so does every artist. In the cultural sector, for instance, it is important that you have a form of organisation that is controllable and approachable. You cannot have a profit motive either. That is why you can usually only apply for funding as a foundation, so you have statutes, a board and a...
On 1 February, the 50th International Film Festival Rotterdam kicks off online. Here are some advance viewing tips.
Cinecitta Tilburg gets 280,000 euri a year from the province of Brabant, or rather the founder's mother. Despite there being quite a lot wrong with the application.
Good news from Friesland. The five larger theatres in the Netherlands' most independent province are going to cooperate intensively to tackle the corona crisis together.
When he left Dunbar over two years ago for a round-the-world bicycle trip, Scottish Dean Nicholson (32) could not have suspected how much his life would change. When he rescued a kitten a few weeks old from a ditch in Bosnia, his life took a completely different turn. Since then, Nala and he have been inseparable, cycling together...
With the lockdown in full swing and the curfew shackling us to our homes, the theatre performances at Concordia Film | Theatre | Visual Arts in Enschede continue as usual. With no less than three diverse, musical performances in the coming week that can be followed via a livestream, so you can still get your much-needed dose of culture.
Yesterday, I finally saw 'Away with Eddy Bellegueule', the theatre hit of the previous broken and devastated theatre season, and saw that its creators had effortlessly bridged the gap between youth and grown-up theatre. The show is a nineties grunge concert with brilliant actors and intense visual direction by rising star Eline Arbo.
What happens in 2022, when refunds are due or not, we will determine on 17 March. But we may just have to count on the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science changing its name already.
Listening away, does the word exist? I did it. And still do. For music. Just as you can look away from something, I listened away from the CD that was so thoughtfully sent to me. Here's the thing. This autumn, I received CD Wounds & Brutality through the post as a gift from Tom America- composer, musician, quirky creator. I've been a fan of America since 2011. He...
Due to the corona pandemic, 2020 was also a crisis year for the cinema industry. Attendance fell by 56% compared to 2019. But the cancellation of US blockbusters allowed the Dutch market share to rise.
Planning in 2021 can only be done in the very short term, or with so many fits and starts that it is actually impossible to deal with. Therefore, at Lowlands - if it goes ahead at all - we will have a lot of offerings from our own country and the very close neighbouring countries.
It is stupid and pointless to start comparing suffering. There is always someone who had it shittier than you, usually even closer than you thought. But reinforcing the delusion that writers and poets can live off their royalties, when that is literally true for less than one per cent of professional literary authors, shows little empathy.
Can you experience magic at home the way the Dutch National Ballet promises with its online stream of the Christmas Gala? If the comments during the stream are to be believed: yes.
Germany has 80 million people, the Netherlands 17 million, so we can multiply the Dutch aid by five if we want to test the German claim. Still, we arrive at an amount three times higher.
With The Home Show, we want to provide our visitors with a cool programme no matter where or with whom they are. TivoliVredenburg is a place that connects people. If that's not possible in real life, we do it virtually. A moment like New Year's Eve, especially after a bizarre year like this, is then extra important'.
I have come to realise that guilt creates a distance. To others, I sometimes come across as cool and reserved; this is because I unconsciously shut down to suppress my feelings and desires. I don't want to get in the way of others with my emotions. But that also means I rarely let the other person get close.
For a while, corona seemed to throw a spanner in the works, but thanks to the flexibility of the makers, speakers and artists as well as the crew, we recorded the Night Mass coronaproof. With extra intimate footage and beautiful atmosphere, for the Night Mass feeling at home on the couch.
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