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…
‘Zoals voor veel mensen betekent het theaterfestival echt wel wat. Net als de Fringe is het niet meer weg te denken. Ik heb er artistieke vriendschappen mogen sluiten, ik heb er ruzies kunnen maken, ik heb er mensen ontmoet van wie ik dacht dat het tegenstanders waren, die medestrijders bleken te zijn. Want er zijn niet alleen voorstellingen, er wordt…
Vandaag maakte de Raad van Toezicht bekend dat Tobias Kokkelmans per 1 september is aangesteld als de nieuwe directeur/bestuurder van Stichting de Theaterdagen, organisator van het Nederlands Theater Festival, Amsterdam Fringe Festival, NTFJong en het verdiepingsplatform voor professionals NTF-Pro. Hij volgt hiermee Jeffrey Meulman op, die in mei van dit jaar na zestien jaar de Stichting verruilde voor de Verkadefabriek…
Ondanks de crisis in de podiumkunsten dwaalt er nog steeds veel jong talent door Nederland en omstreken. Zoveel dat bijhouden onmogelijk is. Wie kan immers alle festivals bezoeken, van festival Boulevard tot Noorderzon, van het Café Theaterfestival tot festival Cement en van het Amsterdam Fringe Festival tot het Zeeland Nazomerfestival? En dan ook nog precies die vier of vijf voorstellingen uit de…
On a cold rainy afternoon, I cycle to the Brakke Grond to ask Bert Hana about his motivations, as befits a beer. First, I visit the IDFA DocLab, which features his VR installation 'I Am Not Home Video', which we have talked about before. Bert Hana is perhaps every art critic's dream, as...
'The practice of payment by book voucher does not belong to a professional sector with substantial economic importance.' Jeffrey Meulman, director of the Dutch theatre festival, has learned to live with it. Against his will. As host of the annual Gala of Dutch Theatre, he has managed to organise that party again. Without money.
Eleven poles are atmospherically lit like a nightclub. Dancers enter and make their way to their work stations. They will walk around their poles in a two-hour shift. They are not the only ones: audience members also start walking, towards the exit. Yet the dizzying repetitions of the hard-working ladies are effective. However, the transcendental minimalism will turn into a...
Het is zo nu en dan best frisjes op het terrein van de Westergasfabriek waar drie Fringe-voorstellingen te zien zijn. Donderdagavond zijn dat achtereenvolgens Levelless van Theatergroep WAK, Vivarium #3 van LORNA Collectief en Kaat van Eva Knibbe. De kou is echter geen spelbreker. De fysieke grappen in Levelless (of Recht niet in het Nederlands) hebben wel wat weg van…
With over 12,000 visitors and an average occupancy rate of 70%, the organisers of the Amsterdam Fringe Festival say they have reason for pride. In a press release, they report that 'they managed to grow the number of visitors without losing the intimacy and experimental character of the Amsterdam Fringe Festival. ' How exactly we should see that....
A new day, so new chances to find the Fringe's greatest gem. Today, I am taken from Theatre Bellevue into a nearby alley. Suddenly I see her lying there. A junk, like there are more walking around in Amsterdam. I prefer to walk around it quickly. Afraid of smelling them or being accosted. Metro, a piece of...
In my search for the gem of the Fringe, I stumbled upon two musicals at the Rose Theatre on Wednesday night. At the Fringe Festival, anything goes, yet I was surprised by Christiane by F*K Theatre. In this musical, young people sink to the bottom of society. They drink and blow. Everyone lives in their own little world. Main character Christiane falls in love with an addicted boy and so also comes into contact with the dark sides of the drug scene. You expect to see the raw sides of this dark world in a story like this, but from the first song Christiane far too well behaved. It reminds me of a feel good-school musical. Eight neat boys and girls sing about 'a trip with friends around you'. They do this so sweetly and in harmonious harmony singing that what you hear and see is totally inconsistent with the story.
Nik van den Berg is undoubtedly someone to keep an eye on. In theatre Bellevue, he gives a parody of a rock star in a bizarre act. 'Is this it,' I think for a moment, but it soon becomes clear how cleverly Van den Berg shapes this stage beast in a fur coat. In an unintelligible language, he plays a number of songs, meticulously portraying the mannerisms and gestures of a great rock artist.
Slowly he takes a sip of tea, takes another drag of his cigarette, drops the ash into his tea and then, in utmost concentration, throws the entire cigarette into the tea. A soundtrack starts, then Nik starts the concert with his electric guitar. The songs in NIK©#2 be about life, its problems and difficulties. But it could just as easily be about making a cheese sandwich. Van den Berg's timing is peerless, as is his empathy. This certainly worked on my chuckles, though there will be those who expected more from it.
There is no notion of time when you take your seat. It is dark. The room looks like a café, with four tables and chairs around them. Don't expect a sit-back performance, as everyone is part of the play. The intriguing Iris Brunette doesn't let you be a spectator, but gives you a role. Do not fear that you will suddenly have to take the stage. From your seat, you are influencing the play. Actress Melanie Wilson lets you choose which way to go. Do we wait here or walk on? Do we go left or right? Do we trust this person or not? The space you're in feels safe. Fortunately. Because there is no exit; walking away is impossible. A maximum of twenty spectators witness this story that takes you through time. Wilson narrates and involves you in the story in the best possible way. A more intimate performance is hardly possible, I think.
The great thing about the Fringe is the variety. On Saturday night I saw VOS, a play by Slawomir Mrozek, played sparklingly by Wouter van Oord. Dressed in a shirt of the Dutch national team, with the name VOS on the back, Van Oord plays two monologues with conviction. The tension can be read from his face before the start, but is gone as soon as the actor...
The room is lit in red. This creates a shadowy atmosphere as you might expect at a nightclub. The music starts playing and from the stairs a young lady in a snappy outfit comes down. She serves pieces of sausage and plays with the crowd. She introduces herself as Lolita. A man in the front row may unbutton her zip. She...
The search for the gem of the Fringe takes me to Amsterdam's basement. Underneath the Rokin, where work on the North/South line is going on 24 hours a day, theatre collective Aardlek plays the performance PUT. In one of the Fringe Festival's most eye-catching locations, I find myself on an underground voyage of discovery into the past, present and future.
Amsterdam's Stadsschouwburg is velvet red. Theatre Bellevue, the beating heart of the Amsterdam Fringe Festival, whorish pink. The Amsterdam Fringe, that means performances in more than 25 places. In theatres, but also on location. From 2 to 12 September 2010 Henk de Jong for The Dodo and performing arts trade journal TM in search of the pearl of the Fringe. Here he keeps a diary, and a longer article by him will appear in the next issue of TM.
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