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We are nowhere near crazy enough. Why theatre desperately needs a little more Crazy Wisdom.

'We will never be 'the same' enough, we fringe characters: bipolar, borderline, gay, lesbian, indeterminate, narcissistic, autistic, hysterical - and we are all fatally insecure and we all need a hug.' Permanent, seemingly inevitable insecurity is peculiar to the theatre industry. Ramsey Nasr hit that sharply in his speech on receiving his second Louis D'Or. The courage, or sometimes almost masochistic... 

Read More "We are nowhere near crazy enough. Why theatre desperately needs a little more Crazy Wisdom.

Joy of life and icy constriction. Ensemble Modern performs striking world premieres by female composers during November Music

Ensemble Modern presents world premieres by German-Dutch Iris ter Schiphorst and Turkish Zeynep Gedizlioğlu in November Music. And that is good news, because the female composer remains too often invisible even in 2019. In the brochures of any Dutch orchestra, you will find none, or only a single work by a woman. On the new Heart & Soul list of... 

Read More "Joy of life and icy constriction. Ensemble Modern performs striking world premieres by female composers during November Music

The flip side of Fair Practice: Kunstenbond in impossible split after 'relaunch' Utrecht Centre for the Arts

'Poignant to see how a lack of decisiveness, clarity and leadership - at both the Utrecht municipality and the management of the KLA - could lead to a split and even rupture among employees.' Karin Boelhouwer of the Kunstenbond is stuck with it, and she has a point. The Utrecht Centre for the Arts (UCK) recently went officially bankrupt. A major... 

Read More "The flip side of Fair Practice: Kunstenbond in impossible split after 'relaunch' Utrecht Centre for the Arts

At Leiden University, the end of patriarchy is shining. 

This weekend, there was some fuss on Twitter. Something about a Nazi comparison that didn't quite work out. Now there is quite often a fuss on Twitter because of a Nazi comparison that doesn't quite work out, but this time it concerned one of our cultural figureheads. Kees Vlaardingerbroek, artistic director of the NTR Saturday matinee and former head of programming at the Rotterdam... 

Read More "At Leiden University, the end of patriarchy is shining. 

What is it with borders? In theatre play The Border, we learn where life is always better.

There has been quite a bit going on about borders, lately. That is what authors Floor Leene and Greg Nottrot have made a performance about, together with Wil van der Meer, Tijs Huys and Pascal van Hulst. Directed by Daniël van Klaveren, the Nieuw Utrechts Toneel (NUT) ensemble performs the play on the oldest border we know,... 

Read More "What is it with borders? In theatre play The Border, we learn where life is always better.

Social Fund Performing Arts turns out to be moneypit: assets halved in five years. Why is this bad news?

'If we continue at the current rate, the fund will be exhausted in the foreseeable future.' This can be read in the 2018 annual report of the Performing Arts Social Fund. Plenty of reason to sound the alarm, indeed. Is this yet another victim of the cabinet's cuts? Not really, it turns out. When you look at the documents in detail, you see mainly that... 

Read More "Social Fund Performing Arts turns out to be moneypit: assets halved in five years. Why is this bad news?

Bring on that fair! 7 established facts that make an ever-younger festival Boulevard unique.

Theatre Festival Boulevard is a highlight of the festival summer every year. Because there are no barriers and because it carries the casual atmosphere of the city in every fibre. But it goes even further. Here are my seven learning moments: 1: Boulevard is more accessible than the city itself Some people find it verging on the hysterical, but... 

Read More "Bring on that fair! 7 established facts that make an ever-younger festival Boulevard unique.

Colson Whitehead writes gripping book on cruelty in US juvenile justice: 'The system is still intact'

With his slavery novel The Underground Railroad, American writer Colson Whitehead broke through worldwide. His impressive new book The Nickel Boys is once again about a gruesome page in recent American history. Torture, rape, even murder: at the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys, it was the order of the day. For as many as 111 years, the... 

Read More "Colson Whitehead writes gripping book on cruelty in US juvenile justice: 'The system is still intact'

With a cohesive team, you win the World Cup. How the Holland Festival gagged all the cynics this year.

The 2019 Holland Festival was the best in decades. At least in the 25 years I have consciously witnessed it, I cannot recall a national festival that coupled so much impact with so much prestige. Whether visitor targets were met or not will be of no concern to me in this regard. It is, as Volkskrant colleague Hein Janssen once remarked,... 

Read More "With a cohesive team, you win the World Cup. How the Holland Festival gagged all the cynics this year.

The most important animation festival takes place in Annecy - and the Netherlands participates

I described here earlier that Dutch animation film is on the rise. And as I look around the animation festival in Annecy, France, this week, it seems nice to see how our animation filmmakers and producers are presenting themselves here. Especially since Annecy is considered the most important event worldwide in this sector. 'The Cannes of animation' I hear... 

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New arts plan cabinet-Rutte III: 25 million less arts supply. (But more happy artists)

How harrowing the payment of artists, musicians and theatre actors, screenwriters and all those other 'creators' is, became clear again in recent weeks. In newspaper Trouw, a musician - finally - came out of the closet of poor working conditions. Against the prevailing mores, she revealed how much she earned. What transpired: top national institutions like the Concertgebouw allow musicians to perform for free, orchestral musicians... 

Read More "New arts plan cabinet-Rutte III: 25 million less arts supply. (But more happy artists)

These painters had to shape the identity of their country. Drents museum shows result of 19th century pursuit of Italian nation-state.

Antonio Mancini, Lorenzo Delleani and Fillippo Palizzi, who does not know these influential Italian painters? Apparently a lot of people don't. Don't feel guilty, even for many art historians the names don't ring a bell. This is in contrast to Caravaggio, Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Bernini and Titian. These artists need little introduction: Italian art, culture and identity are usually drawn from... 

Read More "These painters had to shape the identity of their country. Drents museum shows result of 19th century pursuit of Italian nation-state.

Los Incontados: a bizarre terrarium of small-human suffering in a cloud of cocaine and confetti.

Colombia's biggest export not only allows Urk fishermen to work long hours, or Amsterdam Zuidas lawyers to keep up with the global 24-hour economy. The white gold also dissolves the nasal septum of the cream of world culture, and costs thousands of lives in the country itself. That had to lead to a theatrical performance, and it did 

Read More "Los Incontados: a bizarre terrarium of small-human suffering in a cloud of cocaine and confetti.

Faustin Linyekula and the tearfulness of the travelling artist

'Aid workers come to my city to leave again. I come there to stay.' You cannot get Faustin Linyekula any more concise. 'Aid workers do not create a bond with the people they want to help. Their work is gone as soon as they leave. I don't come to help, but because I want to be there. If that makes me a few... 

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'We have become spectators rather than actors'; Philipp Blom tells performing artists on SPOT-Live what is at stake.

'We are on the brink of a new cultural revolution. We need to move away from our paradigm and art can play a role in this. Art can show us images of a different future, a different thought. Artists can help bring that realisation in.' Speaking is writer and journalist Philipp Blom. In 2017, his... 

Read More "'We have become spectators rather than actors'; Philipp Blom tells performing artists on SPOT-Live what is at stake.

Jesús de Vega makes Choreopop: 'There must always be something that causes friction.' (What a childhood in Gran Canaria does to a dancer)

'I have broken every bone on the left side of my body at least once. My knee ten years ago, my elbow five years later, a toe, a finger, and under my left eye I have a scar from a stone someone threw at me when I was a kid.' Jesús de Vega, dancer, choreographer, videographer and teremin player, has had the requisite... 

Read More "Jesús de Vega makes Choreopop: 'There must always be something that causes friction.' (What a childhood in Gran Canaria does to a dancer)

Culture funds want slow renewal. But it is far too late for that.

On 11 April 2019, the Council for Culture put a shovel in the dykes of the polder that is the Dutch cultural system. After all, the basic infrastructure, established in 2009 to finally bake renewal and flow into the system, is dead. The structure carefully conceived over years has been turned into a ruin by 10 years of cultural policy in which the... 

Read More "Culture funds want slow renewal. But it is far too late for that.

All power to the city! Culture Council's opinion dissected into 9 opportunities and 10 threats

When the Council for Culture released its long-awaited musical advice a month ago, its president Marijke van Hees was remarkably nervous. This was particularly evident in her choice to act as moderator at her own presentation. When there, at Amsterdam's Allard Pierson Museum, came (very mild) criticism of the advice, she shot to the defence. That became... 

Read More "All power to the city! Culture Council's opinion dissected into 9 opportunities and 10 threats

Peppie & UBO: privacy concerns for business leaders and directors. (Why anti-money laundering policies can wreak havoc on culture)

Our government leaders, united in Europe, have come up with something to combat the masking of corruption. It is called UBO register. The Netherlands is also going to introduce it in the near future. This has consequences, also for cultural foundations and associations. Because every organisation has to determine who is a UBO (Ultimate Beneficial Owner). This causes some complications. In the cultural sector, it is... 

Read More "Peppie & UBO: privacy concerns for business leaders and directors. (Why anti-money laundering policies can wreak havoc on culture)

'A woman still cannot write erotic books with impunity'

'Surely the fight for women's rights should have been fought by now, but it doesn't feel that way lately. Men still have a deep-seated feeling that they should be above women. Where does that come from anyway? Where does someone like rapper Boef get the idea that he should just give women, who were kind enough to give him a lift,... 

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*With sound!* Why the Holland Festival show doesn't have to stop for now

'Please stop the show!", shouted an 83-year-old former reviewer from the back row. Theatre Frascati fell silent for a moment. There had never really been such an interruption at the Holland Festival's traditionally festive press conference. And that while Faustin Linyekula had just got into his stride, telling about the projects he is carrying out with his Studio Kanako in Kisangani. They provided... 

Read More "*With sound!* Why the Holland Festival show doesn't have to stop for now

Fred Wondergem: 'There is always more that you don't see than what you do see.'

'When I look in the auditorium at a classical concert now, I do think: it's full now, but in 20 years eighty per cent will be dead. So the bottom has to be fed, and TivoliVredenburg does that well. They do it, for example, with Out of the Blue, which is a programme where you get great food and by a special host 

Read More "Fred Wondergem: 'There is always more that you don't see than what you do see.'

Lower House gets less say on arts subsidies. (If the minister gets her way)

Some people read Christmas stories over Christmas, others the interview supplements of newspapers, and a few do so with policy documents. So, quite a few people have read our Culture Minister's 'Advice Request' in the past few days. I, at least. Those who 'officially' cannot have done so are the members of the Culture Council, because the whole package came... 

Read More "Lower House gets less say on arts subsidies. (If the minister gets her way)

Three CDs you wouldn't have wanted to miss in 2018

The end of the year is approaching. So the lists fly around our ears again with 'most beautiful', 'best', 'most unforgettable', 'most moving'... fill in the blanks. I think compiling top-soaps is actually a typically male thing, but I'm not that bad. Here are three CDs you wouldn't have wanted to miss this year - in no particular order. Louise Farrenc: Variations for Piano Biliana Tzinlikova,... 

Read More "Three CDs you wouldn't have wanted to miss in 2018

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