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Leila Slimani and Fatma Aydemir: two young writers who are really changing my view of the world. You can meet them at Winternachten 2018

During the upcoming edition of Writers Unlimited/Winternachten in The Hague, two writers who are making exciting news with their work and their success will drop by. Fatma Aydemir, journalist from Berlin, wrote with 'Ellebogen' an abrasive debut about a Turkish girl who is a bit less prepared for her future than everyone would like. Parisian author Leila Slimani won in... 

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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.... 

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Finally a solution to Christmas stress! Writer and TV chef Nigella Lawson says: 'Cooking offers more comfort than food'

She has just flown in and has barely had time to eat lunch. So after the interview, Nigella Lawson (57) quickly fishes a sandwich out of a plastic bag from her bag. The successful British television chef has a killer schedule promoting her new cookbook, and there is no more than this between interviews. A... 

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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.... 

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'Get well.' Grief therapist Julia Samuel on 'Grief work'

How should you grieve? Is there any way to grieve, or are you at the mercy of fate? How do you deal with someone in grief? Grief therapist Julia Samuel has been helping people who have lost a loved one for 25 years. By now, she knows how to and, more importantly, how not to. In March this year, a few days before... 

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Thriller writer Tess Gerritsen: 'Everyone keeps their true self hidden'

I Know a Secret is the twelfth thriller in the series surrounding detective Jane Rizzoli and pathologist-anatomist Maura Isles. Writer Tess Gerritsen reached an audience of millions with it, but longs for more. As the main characters of Tess Gerritsen's thrillers, detective Jane Rizzoli and pathologist Maura Isles have been through quite a bit by now. Yet they are startled by the state of their... 

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Dobrinka Tabakova writes double concerto for Lucas and Arthur Jussen: 'It shimmers with energy'

The AVROTROS Friday Concert cherishes mainstream masterpieces as well as less heard and new repertoire. In the 2017-18 season, no fewer than five (world) premieres are on the programme, three of them composed by a woman. - Come and see that among the national orchestras. Friday 17 November will hear the brand new double concert Together Remember to Dance by British/Bulgarian Dobrinka Tabakova. She composed it on... 

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Klaas de Vries finds neotonic heaven: 'I can't resist composing'

Dutch composer Klaas de Vries (Terneuzen 1944) pairs Stravinskyian clarity with southern sensuality. He harbours a love for poets such as Pablo Neruda and Fernando Pessoa, and his work excels in recognisable melodies and rhythms. 'However innovative, to be communicative, music must always contain a traditional element,' he said. On 28 and 30 November, Asko|Schönberg will play... 

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Rule of Three, Jan Martens/Grip. Photo: Phile Deprez.

Very different or not at all? Jan Martens on his new show Rule of Three

Rule of Three is a piece for three dancers: Steven Michel, Julien Josse and Courtney May Robertson. NAH makes the music live, the lighting is by Jan Fedinger and there are some lyrics by Lydia Davis. Rule of Three was released last month at De Singel in Antwerp, and its Dutch premiere is today at the Stadsschouwburg in Amsterdam.... 

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Films at ADE: The rock doc as an IKEA package.

On the fringes of Amsterdam Dance Event, I saw two music documentaries that expose why this genre is often problematic for the cinephile. Both films have their fine moments, but ultimately fall short for those who desire more than mere information transfer in television format. A sympathetic Goth Are 'friends' electric? is title and big hit (1979) by British synth-pop pioneer Gary Numan,... 

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Lavalu's nocturnal movement

High up in a posh flat, Lavalu (stage name of Marielle Woltring, Cleveland, Ohio, 1979) recently gave a try-out of her new programme at Eindhoven's FlatFest festival. For the first time now, she will tour without a band, solo with piano, in small venues where there is a good grand piano. On that Sunday afternoon in Brabant, it soon became clear that somewhere, something was... 

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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... 

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'Had Couperus been born 10 years later, he wouldn't have needed all that packaging'

Director Ivo van Hove chose the 'books of little souls' cycle as the conclusion of the Couperus triptych at Toneelgroep Amsterdam. He previously directed 'Silent Power' (2015) and 'The things that pass' (2016). Dramaturg Koen Tachelet adapted Couperus' Magnum Opus for the theatre. The books 'The Little Souls', 'Late Life', 'Twilight of Souls' and 'Sacred Knowing' together form the cycle 'The Books of... 

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João Ricardo Pedro on living on after missing: 'I want to repay my debt'

On 11 September 1985, the biggest train disaster in Portuguese history took place. Near Alcafache, an international express train collided with a local barge. Nothing was ever recovered from dozens of passengers. They were totally charred in the scorching inferno. Portuguese writer João Ricardo Pedro, in his stunning novel Underway, reconstructs how one of those missing people ended up in that place where... 

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Culture Council doesn't have plans ready yet

This summer, all was well. In Theatererkrant, house organ of the performing arts, an article appeared, apparently also on behalf of the Council for Culture. It showed how a hitherto unknown company called The Transition Office had pretty much completed the new sector plan, employed by the Council for Culture. Many people had been spoken to and now there were still... 

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ELIA

Artists are averse to entrepreneurship. 3 reasons why that is wrong

Most young artists only find out after their studies that they lack important entrepreneurial skills. That is why ELIA, the network organisation for colleges of arts in Europe, is organising the conference: Making a Living From the Arts. On 14 and 15 September, academics, cultural entrepreneurs and artists from different countries will gather in Amsterdam. Together, they will discuss creative solutions for... 

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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 cannot be 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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Even less income for writers. (What you don't know about the austerity-minded library)

That libraries are doing badly was already known. But in the news about this, made public on 27 July by RTL, there is still something hidden that the editors themselves leave underexposed. Because who is paying the real price in the austerity operation? Indeed, the writers. The libraries settle that with a simple trick. They cancel the rent from their own... 

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It has been investigated: culture sector almost succumbs to work pressure (Solution: go cycling in the library)

'I would love to have a human resources manager on staff, but yes, quite a shame.' Dixit the director of a medium-sized arts institution. As in the rest of the Dutch SME sector, in the arts sector personnel policy, or HR policy, is something that is at most done on the side. Anyone who has ever got it wrong can tell great stories about... 

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Thriller writer Jo Nesbø: 'Harry Hole is a very intense character'

He is a tormented, loner and contrarian fellow, but also one of the best detectives the Oslo police force has to offer. And: a much-loved character. Harry Hole is back, in Jo Nesbø's new thriller The Thirst. If the interview could be a few hours later, as he is suffering from jet lag. Popular Norwegian bestselling author Jo... 

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Julia Wolfe: 'Anthracite Fields is a poetic reflection on the lives of miners'

American composer Julia Wolfe (1958) has a thing for the social history of her homeland. Steel Hammer reflects on the unequal struggle of man versus machine, as described in the folk ballad John Henry. Anthracite Fields zooms in on the hard life of miners in Pennsylvania. She won a Pulitzer Prize with it in 2015. The full-length oratorio is experiencing two July... 

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Anna Woltz: 'I think normal people are boring'

On Wednesday 21 June, the Zilveren Griffels, Zilveren Penselen en Paletten and Vlag en Wimpels will be awarded - the prelude to the presentation of Het Gouden Penseel and Het Gulden Palet in September and the Gouden Griffel in October. Interview with last year's Golden Griffel winner Anna Woltz on writing, growing up and the Griffels, of course. By Tijmen... 

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'The Green Hand was a super-secret club'. Susan van 't Hullenaar on her children's book series

Later, when I grow up... Lawyer Susan van 't Hullenaar (1970) always dreamed of becoming a writer. As her 12.5-year work anniversary approached, she realised: I have to take the plunge now, otherwise it won't happen. She quit her job, became her own boss as a copywriter and picked up her pen - well, the computer. 'I gave... 

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This is what devastation looks like: The Gabriels is the perfect mirror for stumpers like us. #HF17

Endless chatting at the kitchen table. While cooking. That's all they do, the brother, the sister, the ex, the two daughters-in-law and the mother of the Gabriel family. About recipes, about the old piano. About Thomas, the brother who died of parkinson's, about his wife, who due to informal care had no time to renew her doctor's degree. All very casually, without... 

Read More "This is what devastation looks like: The Gabriels is the perfect mirror for stumpers like us. #HF17

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