On the myth of the 'attractiveness' of arts funding. (And What Now with debating theatre makers?!)
The VVD will not give away Mark Rutte's latest crown jewel, the arts subsidy cut, for free. The latest argument: suction effect.
Dutch theatre festival
Without memory, our theatre continues to innovate mindlessly, it turns out at the @theatrefestival
Dutch theatre is remembering less and less. This was evident last Friday during two meetings at ITA, the building that once housed the Stadsschouwburg. During Nieuwe Grond, part of the Dutch Theatre Festival, the topic was heritage. One meeting will possibly be remembered by the six attendees: the two guests plus presenter, and their three audience members. The other...
PODCAST: Theatre Festival 2018 opens with punishment.
1On 6 September 2018, Chokri Ben Chika left his sense of humour behind in Belgium. He trekked to the Amsterdam Stadsschouwburg with a filled jerry can and committed a criminal offence. He threatened a Rabo Hall filled to the brim with an indistinguishable fake weapon. He said he admired the anonymous Tunisian who, with his self-immolation ...
Theatre season opens with pep talk for paralysed artists.
Om maar meteen met het rotste nieuws te beginnen: volgens Ferry Mingelen gaat D66 de verkiezingsbelofte van 100 miljoen reparatie voor de kunstbegroting niet waarmaken. Dat maakte de parlementair journalist in ruste bekend tijdens zijn openingswoordje van Het Theaterfestival, donderdag 7 september in de Amsterdamse Stadsschouwburg. Hij had dinsdag nog met partijleider Pechtold gesproken. Die had gezegd dat de tien…
The sharpest theatre of 2017 comes from The Hague: Rishi of Firma Mes
If theatre can do anything, it is to put us outside reality. Not even to make you dream away, but to stop that reality for a moment and look at it in a different way. Call it the Ti-Ta-Wizard moment. To stop the action at the dramatic climax, to take the sting out of the wasp, or the fuse out of the powder keg....
Do you want the audience back, Sarah Sluimer? Then give it back to the actors.
In the Volkskrant of 8 May 2017, Sarah Sluimer lets loose. The opinion maker (for Volkskrant and De Correspondent, among others) used to be a theatre maker and now wonders aloud why she is a bit done with theatre. Because she actually writes that down. I quote: 'I breathed theatre. I ate performances and was convinced that what was there,...
Vijf legendarische voorstellingen die je moet zien in september
September, de maand van het Nederlands Theaterfestival en het Fringe Festival vol met oude en nieuwe voorstellingen die je moet zien. Maar ook in de rest van het land gebeurt aan het begin van het nieuwe theaterseizoen erg veel. Vijf aanraders. Toneelgroep Maastricht, Eyes wide shut (toneel) ‘De nieuwe Shakespeare’ is hij al genoemd, ik noemde hem al ‘duivelskunstenaar’. Feit…
This was Something Raw 2016: less rebellious, more social
The raw in Something Raw can mean all sorts of things. The first thought might be something rough, as in the effect of sandpaper on skin or the havoc left by an elephant in the china shop. But rough is a derivative meaning. Raw first of all means unprocessed and fresh. There is a certain hope in the combination of rough and raw: artists who like...
The figures are in. And they don't say anything at all.
We had already announced it. This period is all about positive framing by the arts sector. Good news has to be spread, although people don't really know why. After all, there are no shareholders to be kept happy, only concerned art lovers. Anyway. On Wednesday 9 September, NRC journalist Daan van Lent presented the result of an investigation into the...
En de 10.000 euro gaat naar… mijn broer!
Het is weer prijzenseizoen in de cultuursector en dat levert altijd gedoe op. Vermoedens van doorgestoken kaarten, vriendjespolitiek, omkoperij. Het hoort erbij, net als iedereen die zijn best doet te vertellen dat de jury volledig objectief en onafhankelijk heeft gekozen. Er is ook niet voor niets een Code Cultural Governance om te voorkomen dat in de kleine kunstwereld te weinig…
Ola Mafaalani zet opening Theaterfestival op haar kop.
Ola Mafaalani en relativering. Dat gaat niet samen. Donderdag 3 september 2015 mocht de artistiek leider van het Noord Nederlands Toneel het theaterseizoen openen met een toespraak, de Staat van het Theater. Ze deed dat op een manier die we eigenlijk van haar hadden kunnen verwachten, maar die desondanks insloeg als een bom. Er gaat hopelijk nog jaren over gepraat…
Trump the judges. Decide who the best actors in the Netherlands are
Sunday is the Gala of Dutch Theatre. In a sober yet festive setting, the theatre sector celebrates the fact that it still exists. Quite an achievement, even if the minister doesn't think so. Be that as it may. We are going to present awards. And not Oscars, Olivers, or Césars, but Louis, Theo, Colombina and Arlecchino. How that came about? Tradition....
Proven: theatre-goers seek intellectual satisfaction and hardly ever read reviews
Drama reviews mainly fill a need among artists and journalists. Newspaper readers hardly use them. In London, this has been studied. Only 36 per cent of theatre-goers say they read reviews. Much more value fans place on tips from friends and family. Last Saturday at Amsterdam's De Balie debate centre, there was a discussion between theatre-makers,...
'Grandiose' opening Theatre Festival doesn't quite take away the pain
"Grand opening, right?" Jeffrey Meulman, the man who as director of the ailing Theatre Festival gave the word "inspired" a new dimension, was delighted. It was Thursday night, September 4, 2014. Shortly before, I had seriously considered jumping from the 1st balcony of the Stadsschouwburg, rather than applauding Tauerbach, the opening performance of The Theatre Festival. It is...
Working for free has become commonplace in the arts. 4 bare facts by festival director Meulman
'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.
New choreographer award from BNG Culture Fund
The Netherlands has added a new award for young choreographic talent. The BNG Culture Fund, in collaboration with Korzo in The Hague, has established the BNG Bank Excellent Talent Dance Award
For some artists, people are scary
As an art journalist, art makers give me VIP treatment: free tickets, separate counters, they say YOU to me and hang on my every word when I tell them something. That's a
Selection Theatre Festival 2013 marked by audience-friendly performances
De Verleiders, last season's big theatre hit, heads the jury selection of The Theatre Festival 2013. The by a group of actors and cabaret artists, including Pierre Bokma and
Order of the Day renews theatre
I did it just like that. Proclaimed a show as the most important theatre innovation for 20 years. That's daring. Even though I made the term a bit more vague in a subsequent tweet, because, yes, there has been quite a lot of innovation in recent years, left and right in theatres. So let's stick to 'the last few years'. And then...
Theatre festival opens with call for new leadership
The Dutch Theatre Festival opened with combative speeches by its director, jury president and patron. Joop van den Ende called for a big lobbyist. We wonder who is strong enough for that.
Tien theatervoorstellingen die u volgens de jury van het Nederlands Theaterfestival niet had mogen missen. Mee eens?
U lag natuurlijk met zijn allen in de rij voor die legendarische Richard III van Orkater met muziek van Tom Waits. Of u had zich opgesloten bij het kleine zaal juweeltje ‘Till the fat lady sings’ van Oostpool, of u wilde gewoon geen aflevering van O O Cherso en The Voice of Holland missen. Enfin: nu weet u wat u…
"The VVD always stands up for the arts" - Guest column by Jeffrey Meulman on Rutte's bold statements
Jeffrey Meulman, directeur van Het Nederlands Theaterfestival TF, reageerde op de uitspraken van Rutte in Buitenhof, die ook op deze site te zien zijn. Vervolgens kreeg hij een brief terug
Two idols and lots of cute girls at Saturday's Autumn Collection #njc10
Het viel op: wat een hoop leuke meisjes in Theater Kikker. Zou het door de programmering komen? Nu waren er een hoop leuke mannen om uit te kiezen op zaterdagavond. De stoere acteerbeesten van FC Bergman bijvoorbeeld, of de androgyne Nik van den Berg, of misschien de ogenschijnlijk lieve Bert Hana. En anders was er altijd nog DJ Oscar Kocken,…
Juries TF and VSCD merge
It was actually typically Dutch. After all, we have more awards to give away here in all parts of the creative sector than there are artists. Almost. And so all those awards have their own selection committees, juries, committees and you name it. Not only costs hands full of money, it's also cumbersome. Which is why there is now at least one sensible...
Kees Hulst en Maria Kraakman winnen Louis d’Or en Theo d’Or op ‘prijzencircus’ Gala van het Nederlands Theater #tf2010
Op het Gala van het Nederlands Theater in de Amsterdamse Stadsschouwburg zijn gisteravond de belangrijkste toneelprijzen uitgereikt. Kees Hulst won de Louis d’Or voor de meest indrukwekkende mannelijke hoofdrol, de rol van Jörgen Hofmeester in’ Tirza’ bij het Nationale Toneel. Maria Kraakman won de Theo d’Or voor de meest indrukwekkende vrouwelijke dragende rol, Orlando in de gelijknamige productie van Toneelgroep Oostpool. Het stuk ‘Oog om Oog’, met onder meer Linda van Dyck en Victor Löw, won de AVRO Toneel Publieksprijs.
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