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Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Dutch proverbs, oil on panel, 1559, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

'Playwriting is flourishing,' says the Language Union. Time for an exploration among playwrights.

On 6 December 2017, the Taalunie Toneelschrijfprijs was awarded to poet, writer and playwright Ilja Leonard Pfeiffer. With his play about Bram Moszkowitcz, titled 'The lawyer', he was the preferred original work among 47 submissions. According to the Taalunie, Pfeiffer's play 'balances magisterially on the fine line between tragedy and comedy, realistic drama and meta-thought, slapstick and emotion.... 

Read More "'Playwriting is flourishing,' says the Language Union. Time for an exploration among playwrights.

Karim makes Ducky, the successful wooden brother of that Utrecht bunny.

It is a rainy Tuesday. Walking distance from Utrecht Central Station, just behind the always lively Kanaalstraat in the Lombok district, I see a windmill on my right. That's where I will meet Karim Eharruyen today. Mill Park 10. Karim's studio is in a hidden idyllic spot in Utrecht. On the unusual site, I first check out his neighbours one by one:... 

Read More "Karim makes Ducky, the successful wooden brother of that Utrecht bunny.

Jouman Fattal, on TV next year, already seen in Frog's 'Winter Collection'

Called The Winter Collection, it is a five-day mini-festival full of surprises. Utrecht-based Theatre Kikker has now made it a tradition to provide some real surprises every year around Sinterklaas. 10 performances by young creators, from video art, to rowdy dance performance, from a silent monologue to post-dramatic cyberpunk, enough to give any theatre lover a wake-up call.... 

Read More "Jouman Fattal, on TV next year, already seen in Frog's 'Winter Collection'
(Farida & The Iraqi Maqam Ensemble - Photo: Melanie Marsman)

5 Reasons why Le Guess Who? is the best festival in the whole world

During the 11th edition of Utrecht's Le Guess Who? (LGW) festival, more than 150 acts from 34 countries found a home in the city of Dom in a long weekend. Fraternisation in listening manages LGW that may definitely go into the books as the best festival in the whole world. And for these five reasons. 1. The whole world comes... 

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Suddenly feeling the urgency at Dancing on the Edge

As soon as I, as an art consumer, begin to suspect arbitrariness in the artist or his creative process, I drop out. Incidentally, this observation now surprises me. After all, I am no fetishist of form, nor am I a canon junkie, and I am not qualified in any of the standard artistic disciplines. Not a composer, not a performing musician and not an actor. Neither filmmaker nor director, nor a lyricist graduate.... 

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Still thinking about tougher sentencing, thanks to 'Prison Monologues'

Utrecht's Wolvenplein prison is sort of empty. Anyone who doesn't happen to have a conviction behind them themselves should go there for fun. I did so myself two years ago on an art project about the surveillance society. When I returned on Tuesday, 17 October 2017, for The Prison Monologues, the impression was still there. The... 

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Han Bennink (75) on LGW: "Working hard and hoping the highlight is still to come."

World-renowned Dutch drummer Han Bennink celebrates his 75th birthday and the 50th anniversary of his ICP Orchestra at Utrecht's Le Guess Who? Festival (LGW). Time for a conversation with a diligent worker. All over the world, Han Bennink is famous. And for him, that whole world is his playground, literally. Bennink started drumming at an early age. Pots... 

Read More "Han Bennink (75) on LGW: "Working hard and hoping the highlight is still to come."

Five weeks of Bambie in Utrecht? Could just be the way to a more diverse culture

Speaking of diversity, within the dominantly white theatre audience, it is also full of bubbles. Over the past two weeks, for instance, I have just let it dawn on me how little overlap there is between the audiences of the two art theatres in my city, Utrecht. At least: for a while I sort of immersed myself in the world of... 

Read More "Five weeks of Bambie in Utrecht? Could just be the way to a more diverse culture
Lounging spectators at TivoliVredenburg (Photo: author)

Poets are the stars in blistering #Night17 (why edition 35 was the best)

Don't let the numbers fool you. Sales figures and print runs of poetry collections say absolutely nothing about the popularity of poetry in the Netherlands. This is not only clear from research. You can also conclude it simply from the fact that there is a Night of Poetry in the Netherlands. So on Saturday, 16 September, this phenomenon turned 35. Of the recent editions... 

Read More "Poets are the stars in blistering #Night17 (why edition 35 was the best)
Scenic photo Rishi. Photo: Joris Jan Bos

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.... 

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Until the Night of Poetry: can we do something with the hashtag #poezieverbindt?

Art has been utterly politicised. It has been creeping, and faster than I thought. Artists now make political speeches, conduct public participation rounds in the service of lobbying organisations. They discuss identity instead of telling the stories that take us beyond the delusion of the day. That cultural funds are now gently starting to talk about social connection too,... 

Read More "Until the Night of Poetry: can we do something with the hashtag #poezieverbindt?

VSB discontinues Poetry Prize: more funds shift focus from art to society

This week it was announced that the VSB Fund is discontinuing the VSB Poetry Prize. That announcement hit the entire art world rather hard. After all, the fund stated that it was going to focus much less on culture and more on social causes. It appears to fit a trend. More funds are shifting their focus from culture to society. At least, that ... 

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No man can escape Nottrots Thundering Time. (Theatre with built-in escaperoom)

'Can I ask you: do you know what time is?' Greg Nottrot's question could not be more straightforward, as I am the only spectator. MIjn spot is uncomfortable: a chair sinking into fresh gravel on the curious Utrecht plain christened 'Berlinplein' by city developers. I witness an early rehearsal of De Denderende Tijd. In that... 

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Why in Watou everything takes on a different meaning (and it's not even because of the beer)

An Arts Festival has taken place in an insignificant corner of West Flanders every summer since 1980. It smells like hops and a growing number of visitors come from the Netherlands. What is Watou's secret? How on earth does a hole of 2,000 inhabitants, which barely appears on your car navigation, end up with an Kunstenfestival that rules the village for two whole summer months every year?.... 

Read More "Why in Watou everything takes on a different meaning (and it's not even because of the beer)

Alain Platel sets all of Carré on edge with overwhelming Nicht Schlafen #HF17

The plofnies came totally unexpectedly. The family father behind me, out with wife and presumably reluctant adolescent son, burst out after about 10 minutes into the performance. Just when a deafening silence had descended over the sold-out Theatre Carré. At least four people, including myself, were shocked to the core. A sneeze had never been this loud before, but as quiet as during... 

Read More "Alain Platel sets all of Carré on edge with overwhelming Nicht Schlafen #HF17
Jeroen van Merwijk behind the window of Kunstruimte Kuub in Utrecht. Photo: Wijbrand Schaap

Why Jeroen van Merwijk likes to welcome you to his studio: 'Being a cabaret artist is not a profession.'

'Everyone has an Apple. Everyone has a Corneille. Nobody has a Van Merwijk. So the question is whether Van Merwijk is any good. Nobody knows that. Then the challenge is for a few great people to buy a Van Merwijk. After that, everyone wants to have a Van Merwijk. When that happens, I'll go back to making other work, because I want... 

Read More "Why Jeroen van Merwijk likes to welcome you to his studio: 'Being a cabaret artist is not a profession.'

Karlheinz Stockhausen sails to heaven at Pentecost

Last year, a minor riot erupted when the Holland Festival announced it was mounting a large-scale project in 2019 around Karlheinz Stockhausen's opera Light. Modern-music haters screamed blue murder, because who is waiting for the grim squeakiness of the German wordsmith? Yet a run on the charts immediately ensued. Even after his death... 

Read More "Karlheinz Stockhausen sails to heaven at Pentecost

(Un)heard Spring: 'Waking up again, Xenakis is nothing like it.'

Each month, in the (Un)heard series, I present extraordinary sounds that do not go unnoticed and unsung. In this episode: Plan Kruutntoone, Horse Lords, Luc Ferrari, Anemone Tube, Jaap Vink and Kraftwerk in 3D. Plan Kruutntoone - What Do the Hands (LP on esc.rec.) "woke up again. xenakis is nothing like it. shoving myself and stuff in search of safety. how... 

Read More "(Un)heard Spring: 'Waking up again, Xenakis is nothing like it.'
Johan Harstad (l) en Arjen Lubach

Arjen Lubach redt zijn tweelingbroer Johan Harstad #ILFU17

Schrijver en televisiepresentator Arjen Lubach is al jaren fan van de Noorse schrijver Johan Harstad, van wie net het megadikke Max, Micha & het Tet-offensief in het Nederlands is verschenen. Hij heeft hem zelfs in Noorwegen opgezocht. Lubach: ‘Ik was bang dat we zoveel op elkaar leken dat we elkaar niets te zeggen hadden.’ Dat viel reusachtig mee. Logisch dus dat hij… 

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Jordi Lammers, or: the secret miracle of a Utrecht Literature Festival #ILFU17

And then there turns out to be a festival theme after all. Comes all by itself. Perhaps not thought of beforehand by the management of the International Literature Festival Utrecht (ILFU), but after three days of immersion crystal clear. Writing is about that about which we do not speak. During the last festival night, Saturday 13 May, I immersed myself for the occasion in a section that allows 'Utrecht' to... 

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Vertaler Gerd Busse, Paulien Cornelisse en Arjan Peters

Millennials schrijven graag over ‘wij’ #ILFU17

Waar je op het IlFU vorig jaar luchtdicht zat weggestopt in de hermetische zaaltjes van het voormalig postkantoor op de Utrechtse Neude, is het weidse uitzicht van Tivoli/Vredenburg een verademing. Het lijkt wel of dat iedereen een beetje losklopt. Het resultaat is meer humor en betere gesprekken op het dak van de wereld.   Het Bureau van Voskuil verjaart niet.… 

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Necessary and wonderful glimpse into the Chinese soul thanks to Utrecht festival #ILFU17

Good timing by the International Literature Festival Utrecht (ILFU) to put China at the centre of this year's edition. Just in time before the Chinese have connected the Betuwelijn to their own railway network on their own initiative, with their well-known decisiveness. High time to get to know the Chinese soul, it seems to me, and that does not succeed immediately.... 

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Lesson 1 of a Literature Festival: translators are really nice people. #ILFU17

Dutch, ladies and gentlemen, is just about the most difficult language in the world, and any committee that wants to improve it only makes it worse. As a professional language user, I have thought so for years, and it has now been happily confirmed by people who really know about it: translators. The first day of the International Literature Festival Utrecht (ILFU)... 

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New artists get place in Style Pavilion: 'They must be able to drill'

In the Style Year, events mainly look back at the art movement that began 100 years ago. Yet there are also contemporary initiatives that look ahead, such as in Amersfoort. In the Keistad, the Style Pavilion is being built from scaffolding material. Twenty contemporary, mostly young, visual artists will give their own interpretation to the outside of the pavilion. They draw inspiration from the building... 

Read More "New artists get place in Style Pavilion: 'They must be able to drill'

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