1: The artificial distinction between pros and amateurs encourages exploitation. In the Netherlands, 115 writers can live off the sale of their books. The rest of the people who call themselves writers do so as a side income. In pop music, the figures won't be much different. Writers with a few euros earning on their Lira statement will not...
Marietje d'Hane Scheltema, her name be praised. How corny I used to think she was with her neat little rhymes with which she managed to transform classical Greek and Roman drinking bouts into Kralings-judged bake sale parties. And how wrong I could be. Because how well her translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses works in the hands of the people at Alum. Yesterday was the premiere...
In this bleak everyday reality, Theatre Group Alum gives you the opportunity to escape to Ilyria, where audiences will be immersed in a world of romance, music and gender fluidity. From 21 to 30 December, this sneaky queer party takes over Theatre Kikker. Shakespeare Twelfth Night was written by William Shakespeare as a sneaky Queer party within the norms of the seventeenth...
Light is the name of the latest production by NUT, a theatre company with close ties to Utrecht's Leidsche Rijn district. It is theatre in a bubble in Utrecht's largest city park, and it starts with good food and drink. I went to see it, and again became even more of a fan than I already was. A few reasons, why that came about.
The night of the sweet-soft child's voice of Marieke Lucas Rijneveld, of course; but also the night of Joke van Leeuwen; of Maria Farantouri and Mikis Theodorakis; of 'illusory poet' Hans Klok even; and of the families of Nisrine Mbarki and Ivo de Wijs. I will try to explain the latter in a moment, in my unpoetic style, forgive me. On my...
On 8 October 2022, ILFU will organise the Night of Poetry in Utrecht for the 39th time already. It is almost sold out which means that two-thirds of the cost is borne by visitors. "The night costs roughly 100,000 euros. If we sell out, the vast majority of the revenue already comes from tickets and about a third...
Light design central in new performance by the NUT | Di 4 October 2022 - Utrecht In collaboration with SHIFFT, the NUT presents the visual theatre spectacle Light, in which light design is central. Light is the extraordinary story of lighting designer Uri Rapaport who goes through life blind for a fortnight after surgery on a tumour on his eye. Theatre-maker Greg Nottrot takes him...
Saying sorry seems to be difficult, if the songs about it are to be believed, and if we measure the time it takes Dutch governments to do it. But sorry is also very easy, if you consider how often you are not pushed aside in the queue for something or other, after the word 'sorry' has sounded behind you, or -...
What is the difference between a translation and an adaptation? In prose and poetry, every word and comma is translated, but it is different in theatre and stage adaptations. What freedoms do director and translator dare to take when adapting Shakespeare, for instance? These questions are at the heart of the latest edition of the illustrious programme on translation and all things...
Exploring Stories is the big festival day of the International Literature Festival Utrecht (ILFU), featuring more than 30 international writers and thinkers on the current and urgent themes of our time. Exploring Stories shows that literature belongs at the heart of social debate. After all, literature begins where the news ends. Anyone who wants to understand the world better cannot do without...
"Over the past two-and-a-half years, I have started making choices. Where ten years ago I thought of going into life as a dance teacher, now the question is: do I really want to? What makes me happy, what do I want to share with the people around me?" For Lotte Willemsma, the first two years of the Corona pandemic were...
Poet, writer and columnist Vrouwkje Tuinman will receive this year's C.C.S. Crone Prize. This will add her name to an honourable list of Utrecht authors who received this literature prize before her, including Manon Uphoff, Arthur Japin and Maxim Februari. "The C.C.S. Crone Prize is a special appreciation for a talented writer," said culture councillor Eva Oosters. "Utrecht is known worldwide as a city of literature....
Ik zeg toch sorry a theatre production by Theatre Group Aluin and Raymi Sambo Makes about Keti Koti, the day celebrating the (official) abolition of slavery, will be shown in Dutch theatres from the end of September. At a time when more and more municipalities and organisations are openly apologising for the slavery past or letting their own role in this period be...
On 23 September, ILFU, in collaboration with Spanish art collective Luzinterruptus, will open the festival with a river of books that will fill the Minrebroederstraat in the centre of Utrecht for one day. On the same day, the 10 writers scattered across 10 districts of Utrecht in recent months for Woord900 and organisation Mooie Woorden will present their stories. Literature vs....
Sunday afternoon 25 September International Literature Festival Utrecht - TivoliVredenburg Wanderlust! On 25 September, during a programme entirely devoted to walking, Midas Dekkers, Henk Schiffmacher, Jeroen Theunissen, Marjoleine de Vos and Bente van der Wouw will talk about their irrepressible wanderlust. It will be an afternoon of walking literature, with and for walkers, nature lovers, pilgrims and reveries. The featured authors will talk about...
This summer, the ILFU Storytelling Competition will be organised for the third time. The Netherlands' only interdisciplinary storytelling competition is open to stories in all forms. Prose, films, poetry, photography, non-fiction, columns, comics, spoken word, music or TikToks: all stories are welcome. Because at ILFU, we believe good stories can be told in all kinds of ways. There are five categories to enter in...
Shabnam and Theatre Group Aluin meet as part of her directorial internship on the performance I say sorry. Aluin considers it important to give young people with an interest in text theatre the opportunity to develop as autonomous creators. Being able to create alongside your writing can be a great added value. This residency gives Shabnam...
The Hot Peaches is a new coming-of-age production by DOX and the Toneelmakerij. Director Timothy de Gilde makes the performance in co-creation with eight performers with diverse backgrounds, both private and in artistry. Each brings their own discipline and together they shape a multifaceted performance, sharing their history of finding and shaping their...
American writer Jonathan Franzen will give a Book Talk on the opening day of the International Literature Festival Utrecht (ILFU). Also present live in Utrecht will be Olivia Laing, Sharon Dodua Otoo, Ayelet Gundar Goshen, Doireann Ní Ghríofa and Tash Aw. ILFU takes place from 23 September to 8 October. Jonathan Franzen broke through internationally in 2001 with his masterpiece The Corrections, for which...
Theatre Kikker is 50 and that deserves a celebration! For audiences, makers and for everyone from the city who does not yet know Theater Kikker very well. From Saturday 1 to Sunday 9 October 2022, Utrecht will be treated to theatrical explosions, pop-up performances, out-of-the-box work and epic DJs. It will be a week of celebration with a touch of nostalgia, a...
"Miss, please give me the minister!". Henk Vonhoff's voice sounded as commanding as it was eloquent as he addressed his secretary over the intercom. Vonhoff was commissioner of the Queen in Groningen, but also chairman of the supervisory committee of the Groningen State University of Applied Sciences, the only college still directly under the minister. We, faculty directors, were at... for the umpteenth time.
Various continents, at least three world languages and some seven centuries cover the unexpected nominations for the Filter Translation Prize 2022, which will be awarded on 28 September during the International Literature Festival Utrecht (ILFU). They are all striking and exceptional achievements, according to the jury, which also scoured the world for scents and forgotten languages. And it hangs...
Ministers of the Rutte IV cabinet will be given a list of novels that will be helpful in the performance of their duties. The list will be compiled by readers of the new online literature platform ilfu.com and a 'literary shadow cabinet' of writers who will each write an open letter to the ministers. Among others, Philip Huff, Manon Uphoff, Özcan Akyol, Ester Naomi Perquin and Abdelkader...
From now on, can we agree to replace all DJs with real drummers? I mean, what I witnessed at the premiere of Eros, Schweigman&'s latest project, was so overwhelming, I can't imagine I've ever gone out of my mind on a drum machine. Two living drummers, splashing and at the same time individually starring at the...
ILFU welcomes award-winning author Jennifer Egan and Booker Prize winner Douglas Stuart to Utrecht on 20 May 2020 for a unique double Book Talk. Both authors published new novels in early April, each commenting on (Western) society in its own way. In doing so, the novels align with the mission of the online platform for stories that ILFU also launched in early April,...
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