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10 viral stories from Culture Press for 235,000 real readers

Always start with the good news. The Information Department of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science did a very good job in 2014. They sent one jubilant press release after another into the world. While there was actually hardly any good news to report. About culture. But because there are a lot of lazy journalists, good news often goes in a... 

Farce around The Interview turns into thriller - Sony succumbs to threat from unknown source

Things keep getting crazier with The Interview, the US comedy in which the CIA wants to implicate two television journalists in an assassination attempt on the leader of North Korea.

You could almost say that film has once again been overtaken by reality.

Although it is not yet crystal clear what exactly is going on. What does seem certain is that US moviegoers will be deprived of a presumably wacky comedy at Christmas. Or spared. That will be a matter of taste.

The trade...

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Questions, stillness and resistance: choreographer Nicole Beutler's new Echo and earlier work on tour in the Netherlands

5:Echo, choreographer Nicole Beutler's most recent production, is a curious show. All focus is on two famous pioneers of Dutch dance in the 60s and 70s: Ellen Edinoff and Bianca van Dillen. Yet Echo mainly shows how impossible (and perhaps undesirable) it is to want to revive past glories. Dancer Kelly... 

Glass pendant in the shape of a face (4th-3rd century BC)

By the way, that city did not need to be destroyed at all: 7 myths about Carthage debunked in Leiden

The bad news is: most myths about Carthage are nonsense. The good news is, the reality is at least as fascinating. Until 10 May 2015, the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (RMO) in Leiden is showing the multifaceted history of a port city in present-day Tunisia, and once formidable rival of the Roman Empire. It simultaneously offers a glimpse... 

Stefan de Walle and Ariane Schluter in Friday, photo Kurt van der Elst

Living on with indigestible guilt to each other's ruined existence: National Theatre plays Hugo Claus' Friday

Georges Vermeersch comes home early from prison, where he was serving a sentence for incest with his daughter Christiane. In the meantime, his wife Jeanne has had a child by younger neighbour Erik. So how to move on? Casper Vandeputte directed an intense, haunting version of Hugo Claus' play Friday at the Nationale Toneel. Lead actors Stefan de... 

Plastic Junkies by Antonin Comestaz, photo Robert Benschop

Squeaky plastic and schizophrenia in Here We Live And Now by NDT and Korzo

Among the audience at Korzo theatre in The Hague at the performance 'Here We Live And Now' are a striking number of dancers from Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT). No wonder, as many of their colleagues are involved in this performance. This annual programme featuring young choreographic talent is a co-production of NDT and Korzo. The addition 'Hague' talent, by the way, may be taken with... 

Forget that swan. But where is Lohengrin? ****

Those stars at reviews. Now I'd like to know how you got those. Explain.

Good. The first thirty minutes of Wagner's Lohengrin at De Nationale Opera are unforgettable. First the Vorspiel with the curtain closed, played heartbreakingly beautifully by the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra which, under Marc Albrecht's direction, does justice to every nuance. We haven't heard it this impressive and...

But will they maintain that level?

Yes indeed! It only gets better. The orchestra z...

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Bowie turns his career around. And it works

Starting with the most recent issue. And then chronologically go back in time to somewhere deep in the 1960s. And then titling it 'Nothing has changed'. Brilliant move by David Bowie. All biographers can immediately throw their work in the bin. After all, anyone who grew up with David Bowie's music chronologically could not help but be continually bewildered... 

Keeping is no good, throwing away is wrong: comical lesson in self-reflection from Firma MES

Twenty-five per cent of people have a room they can no longer enter because it is too full of stuff. This is oppressive and it is no wonder that some resort to the other extreme: radical consumerism. In TROEP, theatre group Firma MES follows Barbara, a woman who wants to live with no more than eight objects. Just like Buddhist monks. This results in a delightful, witty play that is seriously thought-provoking and shows how renouncing is just as bekl...

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Sallie Harmsen and Joris Smit in Tasso (photo Kurt van der Elst)

Drama about art: to do or not to do? Ivo van Hove and Sallie Harmsen think so.

The National Theatre will premiere Blueprint for an Even Better Life on 8 November 2014, which addresses, among other things, the position of artists in society. A theme that also featured in their recent Tasso, and in Toneelgroep Amsterdam's successful The Fountainhead. Is the subject of art back on the theatre agenda due to the changed cultural politics of the past... 

'I feel the need to make everything right in the world stronger than ever.' Laura van Dolron on 'Loving'

Previously, her performance allowed her to think heartbreakingly through love, infatuation and heartbreak. Now her performance is about love in the broadest possible sense. Earlier, she made theatre in which she wrestled with questions. Now she shows that struggle much less and shares the answers she has found with the audience. Earlier, she could still claim... 

2600 visitors for Supernova, couldn't be better? A tough issue in 7 scenes

Scene 1 - Expectations The main hall of film theatre 't Hoogt was filled with people from the film sector on Wednesday afternoon at the invitation of the Film Fund. The subject of the meeting is the chronically low attendance of more artistic Dutch films. This has been the case for a long time, by the way, and not only in the Netherlands. Should new avenues be explored? Should expectations be... 

Book becomes radio: Thea Derks presents Panorama De Leeuw on Concertzender

For seven years, Thea Derks worked on her biography of Reinbert de Leeuw. And it did not go unnoticed. Except for the reaction of the person portrayed, unanimously rave reviews and soon a second printing. Rightly so, because the book offers an indispensable description of modern music in the Netherlands, with many composer portraits and an understandable leading role for Reinbert de Leeuw. 

Reinbert de Leeuw, Man or Melody is smoothly written, but many a reader will still take a long time to read it. The enthusiast...

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Orchestra finds name: the HET The Symphony Orchestra

Hooray! We have a new name. Nederlands Symfonieorkest was not allowed, *****Orkest everyone thought was a joke and reverting to the perfect name Orkest van het Oosten is not possible, because loss of face. What then?

Drum roll...

Simply, the symphony orchestra. Or THE Symphony Orchestra. The Symphony Orchestra.

Not That Orchestra, which would have been a cool name, not 'that', 'this' or 'the', but it. Just 'an' would have been even more meaningless, but don't despair: it does turn out to stand for something...

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Photo: Wijbrand Schaap

'Cuts do lead to loss of quality' The great Arts Council interview (1): "Patronage is, of course, bullshit."

Joop Daalmeijer: 'I never authorise. I find that such nonsense. A journalist should just do his job properly.' Wijbrand Schaap: 'We agree on that then. We write up everything in full, but because conversations about everything tend to be endless, I want to hang it on the Culture Exploration. That's the most concrete piece and the most topical, and it... 

Gaudeamus organises seminar on music criticism

Tonight begins the international Gaudeamus Music Week, in which five composers under 30 compete for the coveted Gaudeamus Music Prize. The jury, consisting of Vanessa Lann, Oscar Bianchi and Wim Henderickx selected them from eighty entrants from all over the world. It is the fourth edition in Utrecht of the competition, which started in 1951 in Bilthoven; the new TivoliVredenburg serves as the festival centre.... 

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,... 

Debating reviews is pointless. Readers are perfectly capable of judging for themselves.

Art has rapidly become unimportant. Artists have been effectively dismissed by populists as subsidy-addicted scum. Media leaves no opportunity to downplay the consequences of the ensuing cuts. Putin is about to bring a third world war to Europe. In Amsterdam on Saturday, September 6, three of the Netherlands' last daily newspaper critics talk to artists about... 

We keep Culture Press on the air

Culture Press follows cultural policy closely. Culture Press dares to put its finger on the sore spot where it is needed. Culture Press is the indispensable source for cultural reporting. Culture Press provides interpretation with daily background articles, reviews and opinion pieces on theatre, dance, film, theatre, music, opera, visual arts, literature and cultural policy. All affiliated authors are specialists in their fields, deeply... 

What you can learn from Culture Press. Already 4 unique offers for art lovers and culture writers.

Being able to write nicely is fine, but the journalists at Culture Press can do more. They have studied to be art experts, have spent thousands of hours in rooms and halls that even you did not know existed and possess enormous drive. How else could this website exist?

We want to share this knowledge with you. In more ways than just through this website, or with the newsletter that a select group of viewers receive. We offer a programme, consisting of webinars, li...

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7 confusing reasons why the stage version of The Fountainhead rattles, but you should still go.

Topical again, now that Toneelgroep Amsterdam is reviving the play, my review from 2014. This week, the stage adaptation of The Fountainhead premiered. The book is terrible, the performance rattles, the actors win only narrowly. The content, however, creates even more confusion, which is why I won't stop you from going to see it. And Hans Kesting, of course. I put it this way.

Win tickets to opera at Paradiso! Whether you like opera or not: five reasons to go to The News today

Win tickets for The NEWS at Paradiso

Big new, small news. News is everywhere, there is no escape. On the street, in one's own living room. What starts at the breakfast table can become world news. So: what is your news today? Let us know, share this page and take a picture, post it on facebook and twitter. Add #thenewsnl and win two tickets to the reality opera that will permanently change your view of the news.

Jubilant reviews. With the 'reality opera' The News, the Nederlandse Reisopera has a hit on its hands. However, the familiar theatre setting is being abandoned for pop temple Paradiso. Whether you like opera or not: five reasons to go.

Is Anne too big for reviews? 3 reasons why I find it hard to review Anne

Someone commented on Facebook that it looked a bit odd for a newspaper to hand out stars for a play based on The Diary of Anne Frank. Although I myself shudder to give out stars this early for a Godwin make, surely there is something to The Play and The Review. Indeed, reviews of The Play to The Diary seem superfluous. For how do you review such a play, with such a history? Isn't fuss about layering or no layering, adventurousness or no adventurousness in the direction even a little irreverent? So these are three issues, which led me to consider that maybe it shouldn't be possible at all. Anne review.

We have tickets: you can tell us where to go in the Holland Festival

The Holland Festival, we have been doing it for years. It is definitely the highlight of the cultural season. At the Holland Festival, you see how the international art world hangs out. In recent years, under the skilful direction of Pierre Audi, the whole thing has become a lot less elitist and pompous than it used to be. A ticket also often costs a lot less than an evening of André Rieu in Maastricht, to say the least.

In short: no reason not to go, but we can on...

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