Theatre Café Festival [PAG 1]
Contents [Volgt]
Amsterdam 28-29-30 May 2015 Toneelmakerij.nl Fri 29 May, Sa 30 May
17.30
yñ> C ¹ H Krakeling Theatre
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Introduction
Contents Introduction 2 Local Partners
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Festival timetable
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Playwrights & texts
8
European Writers Lab
20
Artistic team
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Performances 32 Other events
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European partners
36
Practical information & city map
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When the London-based group Company of Angels organised the first Theatre Café Festival, back in 2004, they could not have suspected what an impact this little event would have on the development and dissemination of European theatre texts for young audiences. It was an entirely new phenomenon at the time, with its staged readings, lively debates and intensive exchanges of ideas in such a relaxed and informal atmosphere. Now, eleven years later, it’s difficult to imagine a time without it, especially now there are new partners in Berlin, Oslo and Amsterdam. Theatre Café Festival has been the launch pad for the international career of a good many writers, and it has offered large numbers of theatre makers an opportunity to discover all the wonderful writing being done in Europe. Here in the Netherlands, Toneelmakerij is a tireless champion of developing new plays for children, young people and the adults in their lives, and we’re proud to be part of this European movement with text at its heart. Although there are people out there who claim that these days children and young people have no interest in 'wordy' theatre, all the writers at Theatre Café Festival are proof enough that the word – written and spoken – is alive and kicking. Words are expressive, energetic and thrilling, and they engender events onstage that audiences won’t quickly forget. For the last two years Company of Angels, Berlin’s GRIPS Theater, Imploding Fictions in Oslo and
Toneelmakerij in Amsterdam have been working together. As well as allowing us to get to know each other in our own contexts, what’s been so rewarding about this period is how we’ve gained new perspectives our own work and history. We change each other, we enrich each other, we sometimes disagree, and we grow. One of the key events at the Amsterdam festival will be the presentation by the European Writers Lab, through which four young writers or writing teams have each written a new play under the mentorship of experienced writers – and each other. Over the course of four sessions they read together, discussed texts and working processes, and drew inspiration from expert meetings. And now the final results are ready, and the four new theatre texts will be presented. We hope they will find their way onto stages in their home country and elsewhere in Europe.
Liesbeth Coltof > Artistic director of Toneelmakerij
So now let the festival in Amsterdam begin. We offer you the warmest of welcomes and we look forward to a lively few days of unforgettable words, chats at the bar and good company. Welcome to Toneelmakerij, Krakeling Theatre and Bellevue Theatre > 3
Local partners for Theatre Café Festival Amsterdam Toneelmakerij is the house ensemble at both Krakeling Theatre and Bellevue Theatre. All Toneelmakerij’s productions for children premiere at Krakeling, while plays for teens and young adults get their first showing at Bellevue. More than 40,000 children and young people are introduced to theatre at Krakeling every year. Krakeling Theatre is unique in its kind, presenting a well-balanced programme of plays for young audiences every season. Over the years it has also grown into a centre of expertise on theatre for young audiences in the Netherlands – and it’s where theatre professionals get together to talk about their experiences and to share knowledge. Bellevue hosts around 570 shows each year in its three auditoriums – taking in music theatre, drama, modern dance, mime, youth theatre and puppet theatre – attracting an annual audience of around 55,000. As well as hosting touring productions, Bellevue produces and stages plays as part of its own Lunchtime Theatre programme. It is also home to several festivals and Tekstsmederij, Toneelmakerij’s partner for the Grand Writers’ Supper.
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ak de toneelm
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Kees Blijleven, director of Krakeling Theatre for young audiences
In these times when image and speed seem to prevail it’s especially important that there are texts for young audiences. They need to be topical and relevant, so young people can identify with them and feel represented by them. Five texts will be presented at the Theatre Café Festival. A previous edition of the festival was the birthplace of Toneelmakerij’s “The Joys and Sorrows in the Life of a Giraffe”, which will premiere this autumn, and I’m really looking forward to the texts from other countries – I hope they will also find their way to theatre ensembles and audiences!
Frank Noorland, programmer at Bellevue Theatre
This festival brings together two perennial favourites: the theatre and the cafe. We’ll spend three days together in a relaxed but highly focused setting, immersing ourselves in the lives and minds of playwrights writing for young people. We’ll learn from one another how to deal with life – and then we’ll raise a glass to it.
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u Festival timetable Thursday 28 May 16.00 17.00 19.30 21.00
Arrival & delegate registration Opening & Dinner with the Dutch Boat trip Performance of Jamal (in English)
Toneelmakerij Toneelmakerij Canals of Amsterdam Krakeling Theatre
Friday 29 May 9.30 10.00 11.45 13.30 14.30 17.30 19.30
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Delegate registration Staged reading: Fuck Me, Facebook Me, Follow Me! 14+ > Holger Schober > Austria Staged reading: What The Rhinoceros Saw When it Looked on the Other Side of the Fence 9+ > Jens Raschke > Germany Lunch Final presentation by the European Writers Lab Grand Writers’ Supper (in association with Tekstsmederij) Performance of The Aunties (English surtitles)
Krakeling Theatre Krakeling Theatre Krakeling Theatre
Krakeling Theatre Bellevue Theatre Toneelmakerij Bellevue Theatre
u Festival timetable Saturday 30 May 9.30 9.45 11.30 13.00 13.45 16.00 17.00 – 18.30
Delegate registration Staged reading: I Call My Brothers 14+ > Jonas Hassen Khemiri > Sweden Staged reading: Vilde 14+ > Tale NĂŚss > Norway Lunch Staged reading: Brilliant Adventures 14+ > Alistair McDowall > England Performance of The Beginning of Everything (English surtitles) Closing drinks
Krakeling Theatre Krakeling Theatre Krakeling Theatre Krakeling Theatre Krakeling Theatre Krakeling Theatre Krakeling Theatre
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Five staged read European plays A fresh style in a cafĂŠ setting
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Staged readings
ings of Fuck Me, Facebook Me, Follow Me! Holger Schober - Austria
What the Rhinoceros Saw When it Looked on the Other Side of the Fence Jens Raschke - Germany
I Call My Brothers Jonas Hassen Khemiri - Sweden
Vilde Tale NĂŚss - Norway
Moderator > DaniĂŤlle Wagenaar
Brilliant Adventures Alistair McDowall -UK
Q&As with the playwrights Fri 29, Sat 30 May
Krakeling Theatre
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FUCK ME, FACEBOOK ME, FOLLOW ME! c HOLGER SCHOBER (Austria) Holger Schober studied acting at the Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna and has worked as an actor, director and writer. He has written plays for children at the Thalia Theater in Hamburg, Deutsches Theater in Berlin, Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Theater Heidelberg and Dschungel theatre in Vienna. He was nominated for the German Theatre Award for young audiences for “Hikikomori”. “Clyde and Bonnie” won the Austrian Theatre Award and the Stella Jury Award, and “Heimat.com” won the Dutch-German Theatre Award for young audiences. Schober’s plays have been translated into English, French, Dutch, Swedish, Arabic, Polish, Japanese, Italian and Croatian.
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Staged reading
How would you describe your style? I wouldn’t say I’ve got a specific writing style. I seek out powerful and moving stories about human beings and I try to tell them in a way that works. I’ve done drama, comedy, a play that takes place on a website, and I´ve even done a Bollywood musical for children – so I try to adapt how I write to the context. If there’s any common thread in my work, it’s the way I approach my characters. I want them dirty, a bit rotten; I don´t everything to be clear. I want the audience to make up their own mind what they feel about the character. I want my audience to be thinking, not consuming.
How did this text come about? I’d always wanted to do something about youth movements – I find it a very interesting topic. I was reading a lot about the Hitler Youth movement and things like that, and I was racking my brains for a long time, trying to work out what to do with it. Then Bremerhaven Theatre asked me to write something about youth movements. Then there were the usual negotiations, with things like, “We’ve got four young actors, the audience is aged 15 to 21, and one of the actors is a really good guitar player.” And then you try to put it all in there – and, at the same time, you write a play you like yourself.
Do you write with a certain audience in mind? Yes and no. Of course you have to think about your audience when you get a commission to write a play for 4-years-olds. You’ll most probably arrive at the conclusion that sex and crime aren’t really appropriate topics, but then you have to forget about it again, otherwise you’d always be writing with this little censor in your head, saying, “Uh-oh, that doesn´t fit the target audience.” That could paralyze you. At the end of the day I’m writing the plays I want to see, that make me laugh, and cry, and that make me scared. I’m the only person in the world I really know inside out so the only taste I can really refer to is my own.
Fri 29 May
Translator Richenda Gillespie The translation was made possible by the support of the Goethe Instituut Friday 29 May > 10.00 > Krakeling Theatre Director Paul Knieriem Cast Soumaya Ahouaoui, Keja Klaasje Kwestro, Lowie van Oers, Tomer Pawlicki
10.00
Krakeling Theatre
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[portret Jens Raschke]
What the Rhinoceros Saw When It Looked on the Other Side of the Fence 9 JENS RASCHKE (Germany) Jens Raschke is a playwright, director and dramaturge, working mostly on plays for young audiences. His monodrama “Do Fish Sleep?” won the 2012 Mülheimer Kinderstückepreis for the best German play for children. It was also adapted in 2013 as a radio play for DeutschlandradioKultur and it has been translated, so far, into Swedish, Polish, Hungarian, Spanish, Russian and Arabic. “What the Rhino Saw When it Looked on the Other Side of the Fence” won both the Deutsch-Niederländischer Autorenpreis and the Deutscher Kinderstückepreis in 2014.
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Staged reading
How would you describe your own style? I don’t try to write plays with ready-made answers. I started off writing about the children of SS officers in Buchenwald. There are loads of photos of them in the archives. They look so innocent. But what exactly do you and don’t you know if you’re growing up near a concentration camp? That was the specific question I kept in mind while writing this piece. Apart from that, I always try to keep my writing a good mix of seriousness and fun. Do you write with a certain audience in mind? I wrote this play primarily for myself, and beyond that I didn’t have a specific target audience in mind. It usually comes along afterwards. And in any case I find it difficult to assign a piece to a specific age group because children aren’t all the same. I suppose it’s suitable for 9-year-olds and older, but in the end it’s the decision of the theatre that brings it to the stage.
Translator Penny Black The translation was made possible by support from the Goethe Instituut Friday 29 May > 11.45 > Krakeling Theatre Director Daniël van Klaveren Cast Roel Adam, André Dongelmans, Fleur Voorn, Chiara Wilde
What gave rise to the text? I’ve been wanting to write a play about anti-semitism for quite a while, and I’d already done two years of research. During that period I chanced upon a photo of a zoo near Buchenwald concentration camp. I’d never heard of it before and there aren’t many publications that mention it. I was particularly fascinated by the photo, and it gradually developed into a play for children. Initially, the idea was that it would be about children, but that didn’t feel right because it was about a zoo, so now the play takes the perspective of the animals.
Fri 29 May
11.45
Krakeling Theatre
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I CALL MY BROTHERS c JONAS HASSEN KHEMIRI (Sweden) Jonas Hassen Khemiri’s novels have won various awards, including the P.O. Enquist Literary Prize. His six plays have been performed by more than fifty international companies, in Stockholm, Berlin, New York, London and other cities. He received a Village Voice Obie Award for his first play “Invasion!”, which premiered in New York in 2011. His second play “God Times Five” toured Sweden and the third play “We Are A Hundred” won Norwegian’s Hedda Award for best play. In 2012, following a terrorist bombing in central Stockholm, Khemiri published the novella “I Call My Brothers” and adapted it for the stage, with premieres in Malmo and Stockholm and guest performances in London. In 2014, Khemiri's most recent play ”≈[Almost Equal To]” premiered to rave reviews at Dramaten, Sweden’s national theatre in Stockholm. It is currently being translated into English, Norwegian, French, German and Icelandic.
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Staged reading
How would you describe your own writing style? I always dream of (and fail at) writing texts in which I collide novelist Nabokov with rapper Nas, sprinkle on some Caryl Churchill and Marguerite Duras, then finish off with a few teaspoons of the stand-up Richard Pryor. Lord knows I have stolen from all of them. Do you write with a certain audience in mind? Myself. I have never written specifically for young people, but until now I’ve been fortunate enough to reach an audience that’s not part of the typical theatre crowd.
Translator Rachel Willson-Broyles Saturday 30 May > 9.45 > Krakeling Theatre Director Liesbeth Coltof Cast Soumaya Ahouaoui, Keja Klaasje Kwestro, Dionisio Matias, Dylan Smith
What gave rise to the specific play we will see on the festival? The feelings of fear and paranoia that grew in both me and my home town Stockholm after a bomb exploded there in 2010.
Sat 30 May
9.45
Krakeling Theatre
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VILDE c TALE Næss (Norway) Tale Næss made her debut with the novel “The Moon Has No Hands” in 1992. She has written plays, poetry, manuscripts for film, texts for dramatic installations, libretti for opera, and more. She is currently a dramaturge at Hålogaland Theater, and her most recent play “Funn” is an audio piece produced by Norwegian Broadcasting in 2014. Næss’ next international reading will be of her upcoming play “S O A R E” at Copenhagen’s Husets Theatre as part of the Festival of European Contemporary Playwrights, which runs from 17 to 20 June 2015.
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Staged reading
How would you describe your style? My work has a certain poetic quality; I want it to be as beautiful as it is ugly – and I want it to present a dilemma. There's a difference between what I write for the page and for the stage. When I write for the page I write in a closed loop between the reader and myself. Writing for the stage means you are obliged to allow the audience's experience to be part of the performance. I want them to make up their own mind and to offer the actors the opportunity to explore areas in the text. Do you write with a certain audience in mind? I usually consider the age group I write for, especially when I write for children and teens. But for "Vilde" I was approached by an actress who asked me to write a play for her, so I thought about her while writing. She’s in the text in "Vilde". I didn't think about the audience while writing it, because I wanted to be completely absorbed in the feeling of the piece – to lose control. The character Vilde has a great capacity for both tenderness and violence. She has no real control over these areas inside herself. The actress I was writing for can be both tender and tough, too, and I wanted to explore that. I wanted it to be uncomfortable for me to write, uncomfortable for the actress to perform, and uncomfortable to watch for the audience. The text for "Vilde" was the result of that journey.
Sat 30 May
What gave rise to the text? The actress approached me, of course, but that didn't influence the subject matter. The director was also involved from the beginning. I wrote it, they read it and we talked about it. When I allowed Vilde to speak, the content followed. While I was writing I asked them how far I should let her go. And they said, ‘Let her go all the way.’ So I did. It was only afterwards that I recalled a site-specific piece I once worked on. It concerned a legend about a young girl who was banished from society for incest with her brother. When I think about it now, maybe that work was somewhere in the back of my mind when I was working on “Vilde”.
Translator Tale Næss Saturday 30 May > 11.30 > Krakeling Theatre Director Liesbeth Coltof Cast Meral Polat
11.30
Krakeling Theatre
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BRILLIANT ADVENTURES c
ALISTAIR MCDOWALL (United Kingdom) Alistair McDowall grew up in the North East of England. Other plays include “Pomona” (National Theatre, Royal Exchange Theatre 2015 / Orange Tree Theatre 2014), “Talk Show” (Royal Court, 2013), and “Captain Amazing” (Live Theatre, 2013). He has previously worked with the Royal Court, Royal Exchange, Live Theatre, Paines Plough and the National Theatre Studio. McDowall’s work has been translated and produced internationally. He lives in Manchester.
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Staged reading
How would you describe your style? I learnt a lot early on staging plays on the fringe, where since audiences would only have paid four or five pounds for a ticket they could easily walk away. I think this had a huge impact on how I wrote my early plays – keep things fast and, if possible, funny. I would also be constantly looking for ways to create a more direct connection with the audience. In “Brilliant Adventures”, there’s an apparently working time machine that’s made out of cardboard. Everyone onstage and in the audience can see it’s cardboard – so the agreement between the actors and audience that it works is a game that’s played throughout the entire play. All of my plays have some sort of game like this, an attempt to engage as directly as possible with the live nature of theatre. Your audience are your greatest collaborators, not just your witnesses.
What gave rise to the text? One day the characters just arrived in my head. I grew up just outside of Middlesbrough, and spent a lot of my teenage years there, and as I started to write the play I knew I wanted to try and capture some of the spirit and humour of the town without (I hope) ever being patronising or simplistic. I never have a good answer as to where plays come from; to me they just arrive as a combination of innumerable elements specific to that particular time in my life. I couldn’t write “Brilliant Adventures” today, but I couldn’t have written anything else at the time.
Do you write with a certain audience in your mind? I write for myself. It’s a dangerous game to start making assumptions about who your audience are. If I’m enjoying what I’m writing then chances are someone else might too. This is the first time that “Brilliant Adventures” is being presented as a play for a younger audience. I didn’t write it for children at all, that wasn’t my intention, and that wasn’t how it was produced in England. I think the assumptions as to what a younger audience will or won’t enjoy are often false. Everyone wants the same things: an engaging story, believable characters, and an attempt to directly engage with the liveness of theatre.
Sat 30 May
Saturday 30 May > 13.45 > Krakeling Theatre Director Paul Knieriem Cast Peter van Heeringen, Lowie van Oers, Tomer Pawlicki, Dylan Smith, Chiem Vreeken
13.45
Krakeling Theatre
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European Writers Lab
Toneelmakerij’s Liesbeth Coltof and Paulien Geerlings are the initiators and driving forces behind the European Writers Lab. Five young writers from the Netherlands, the UK, Germany and Norway each worked on a new theatre text over a period of eighteen months. They received individual coaching and guidance from one writer from their own country, and another from one of the other participating countries. The five writers and their mentors came to each edition of Theatre Café, attending all the events together and discussing the texts they heard. The young authors also discussed the progress of their own texts with one another and with their mentors. The participants’ wide-ranging cultural backgrounds generated refreshing observations and comments – and heated debates on the dos and don’ts of writing theatre texts for young people. > 20
European Writers Lab
> Final presentation
Friday 29 May > 14.30 > Bellevue Theatre (Palonizaal)
Actors will read extracts from the four newly written plays. Followed by a discussion with the young writers Jorieke Abbing (NL), Kristofer Grønskag (NO), Glenn Waldron (UK) and the German duo Jakob Nolte and Michel Decar.
> Lab mentors
Directors Liesbeth Coltof, Paul Knieriem Cast Soumaya Ahouaoui, Sarah Jonker, Tomer Pawlicki, Chiem Vreeken, Chiara Wilde
Henrik Adler (GER) studied philosophy, German and musicology, and he is the dramaturge at GRIPS Theater in Berlin. He was previously the dramaturge at Berliner Festspiele and the Berliner Ensemble. He mentored Michel Decar, Jakob Nolte and Glenn Waldron for the European Writers Lab. Rob Drummer (UK) is a dramaturge and director. At the Bush Theatre in London his primary focus is on new writing-related activities and initiatives. He has worked for the National Theatre, Hampstead Theatre, Bristol Old Vic, Contact, York Theatre Royal, Manchester Museum, Theatre503 and Company of Angels. Lot Vekemans (NL) has been writing stage texts for teens, young adults and adults since 1995. Her plays are performed internationally. In 2012 one of her plays was filmed for the first time. Vekemans received the 2005 Van der Vies Award for “Truckstop” and “Zus Van”, and in 2010 she won the Taalunie Playwriting Award for “Gif”. Her debut novel is “Een bruidsjurk uit Warschau” which was nominated for the Anton Wachter Award.
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Tale Næss (NO) debuted in 1992 with “The Moon Has No Hands”. Read more about Tale on page 16 and 17. Fri 29 May
14.30
Bellevue Theatre
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Jorieke Abbing (The Netherlands) Jorieke Abbing completed her Writing for Performance studies at Utrecht School of the Arts in 2007. Her graduation piece “Beste Sneeuw" won the three-yearly Van der Vies award for Best Dutch Play in 2008 and the international Kaas & Kappes award in 2009. Jorieke has had commissioned by NT Jong, Het Filiaal, Toneelgroep Oostpool, Tuning People, Jeugdtheater Hofplein and Filmmuseum Amsterdam. At Toneelmakerij she worked together with director Roeland Hofman on two productions with TMJong, the company’s youth theatre ensemble. Jorieke has also collaborated with her sister on two productions: “Aan die komen” and “Hier komt de nacht”, both of which are based on true stories about Groningen during the Second World War.
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European Writers Lab
How would you describe your own style? Theatre is not real. My goal is to create a world apart; realistic but not reality. I always start from there. My language is formal. My characters are odd, raw, cruel, and have a keen eye for detail. My style has been described as “elliptical”, or “omitting superfluous language”. There is not a word to spare. The dialogue is simple and clear, apparently naïve, allowing it to create rich associations. I want to serve a minimalistic world where the audience makes its own connections. I encourage the audience to use its imagination. Do you write with a certain audience in mind? To my mind, children are the best audience for the very simple reason that they’re receptive, never cynical, and it’s clear when they like what they see. When I write, I try to keep it universal. If I can create something I’m personally happy with, I think that comes through.
What was the most valuable lesson of the European Writers Lab? It was incredibly valuable to meet all the lovely people from companies in London, Berlin and Oslo. I learned to open up about my work before a large group who I felt connected to. Most of all, I learned from discussions with my mentor Lot Vekemans. She had a clear vision on writing. A great bit of advice she gave me, was, “When you have so many thoughts about the subject, my advice to you is to loosen up and see what will be written.”
Jorieke wrote “Clover” for the European Writers Lab Translator Rina Vergano
What gave rise to the text? I wanted to write a piece about friendship. I was particularly interested in friendships between girls and the issues of dominance that inevitably arise; themes of manipulation, sacrifice and changing who you are in the light of another offer a darker take on friendship. However, it is also the story of how these types of friendship can create positive change; a reawakening.
Fri 29 May
Friday 29 May > Bellevue Theatre
Bellevue Theatre
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Jakob Nolte & Michel Decar (Germany) Michel Decar and Jakob Nolte were born in West Germany in the late 1980s. The plays they have written, either alone or as a duo, have been produced by theatres in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and have appeared at various festivals. In 2013 their play “Das Tierreich” won the Brüder-Grimm-Preis des Landes Berlin. Recently, Jakob Nolte published his first novel and Michel directed two radio plays for Deutschlandradiokultur.
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European Writers Lab
Interview with Jakob Nolte How would you describe your style? Where it concerns the story and the plot, Michel and I come together in our fascination for the imagination. For me, theatre is so great because it’s a space where anything can happen. You can present anything you want: a play set in the past or present, or on the moon, or whatever. It’s our style to create utopian places together, I think. I also see Michel as a very honest writer. He never tries to pretend he’s anything more or different than he is – and he’s also very funny. I try to write in an honest way as well. In this piece we set out to see where our imagination would take us, ultimately to set a scene on every continent. We cherish the idea of presenting a different world. We like putting stuff together from here, there and everywhere to create a hybrid, imaginary home. Do you write with a certain audience in mind? We’re aware of the fact that there is an audience. We’re not thinking of specific people but we see them as a challenge – not as an opponent – as someone who is present. It’s hard not to keep it in mind. What gave rise to the text? We had a big discussion about drones. We were thinking about where people are getting killed and at what moments. So from there we thought of normal or classic situations with innocent people and how it would be if they were killed. What could happen on stage just before an important moment, like being Fri 29 May
bombed by a drone just before having your first kiss? What can happen on a theatre stage to create an emotional bridge between the audience and this abstract phenomenon of people somewhere in Pakistan getting killed by drones? Then we started thinking about what else we could do with the dramaturgy and writing and creating all kinds of scenes, or worlds. What was the most valuable lesson of the European Writers Lab? It was amazing to see how other people write for children’s theatre in other countries where people are dealing with other systems. I enjoyed seeing something from my own world in Germany. I had no idea how people in Norway look at theatre. We saw performances together at Theatre Café. In York there was one approach to acting and then a completely different one in Norway. At first we discussed how the characters talked or which line was funniest, but no matter where you were from you ended up talking about the content – and this experience of international thinking was very good for me.
Jakob and Michel wrote “Hellfire Afternoons” for the European Writers Lab Translator Henrik Adler Friday 29 May > Bellevue Theatre
Bellevue Theatre
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Kristofer Grønskag (Norway) Kristofer Grønskag has written or adapted more than twenty plays, both for children and adults. His work has been translated into several languages and produced in Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Bosnia. Several of his plays have has received nominations and awards, including “The Beloved”, which won the 2012 Amsterdam Fringe Bronze Award. Other plays include “Kinder K", “Democritic”, “Sub Text”, “We Who Hate Us”, “The Boy”, “And Everything Shall Disappear” and “Hubris”. He is currently on a two year residency at Dramatikkens Hus, Oslo’s national institute for theatre play development.
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European Writers Lab
How would you describe your own style? I find writing for children way more complicated than writing for adults; writing for children seems to give me more possibilities. Then I write in a more poetic way and I try to push more boundaries when it comes to telling the audience about certain issues. It doesn’t matter whether it’s for children or adults, I never give any answers in my work – what I do offer them is an investigation. Do you write with a certain audience in mind? I always know who the audience will be, but that doesn't mean I totally adapt my writing style to it. It’s more that I try to find a fascination that the audience and I share. I enjoy how much room for fantasy a children’s play provides. For me as a playwright it’s both terrifying and incredible at the same time. What gave rise to the text? This play is inspired by a YouTube video of a girl with Asperger syndrome. One of the other Theatre Café meetings made me think of this clip. It made a certain sort of statement that I found really remarkable, and I wanted to look into how I could present it through the prism of a theatre text for children. My play isn’t about Asperger’s syndrome, but it is about how we behave towards people who are just a little bit different.
What’s the most valuable lesson you learned from the European Writers Lab? The mentors told me it would be a challenge the moment I laid my ideas down and told them about the language and dramaturgy of how I wanted to write it, but they said I should do it anyway. They really gave me the confidence to write it this way and without them I wouldn’t have done it. We’ll have to see whether it paid off of course. But it was great to have this support. It’s also been nice to meet other young writers and see different ways of writing for a young audience.
Kristofer wrote “Satellites in the Night Sky” for the European Writers Lab Translator Neil Howard Friday 29 May > Bellevue Theatre kristofergronskag.wordpress.com
Fri 29 May
Bellevue Theatre
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Glenn Waldron (United Kingdom) Glenn Waldron’s first full-length play “Forever House” was produced in 2013 at the Drum Theatre, Plymouth, and directed by Joe Murphy. He is currently under commission to Company of Angels / Bush Theatre and the Theatre Royal Plymouth and is also working on a series of essays on contemporary gay life. Other theatre credits include “Plucky” for DryWrite at Bush Theatre and “Come to Where I’m From” for Paines Plough theatre company. Glenn was editor of the influential style magazine i-D from 2004 to 2006. Since then he has written features for a broad range of publications including Vogue, the New York Times, W Magazine, Wallpaper, The Guardian and The Independent. He also gives lectures at the London College of Fashion.
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European Writers Lab
How would you describe your own style? That’s something that I’m still searching for. I’m not too confident to label it yet. I tend to write with a darker style of humour. I’m interested in ideas of sexuality and youth culture. I like to explore aspects of the modern world, but it’s not so issue-based. I find it useful to have a sense of the form. Often when I know the form I feel more comfortable writing it. Do you write with a certain audience in mind? Writing this play was challenging. Hopefully 16-year-olds and 66-year-olds will be able to relate to it – we’ll have to find out I guess. I write about something I connect with and hopefully someone else connects with it as well. A 16-year-old’s mind-set is not very different from my mind-set. Sometimes we try to be more sophisticated but I think we’re not. What gave rise to the text? With “Natives” I was trying to understand internet and social media as an invisible fact. Young people don’t really distinguish the internet; it’s an integrated part of their lives – while we do talk about it, about the dangers of it. I tried to put myself in their shoes and think of what it would be like to encounter these pressures and possibilities that come along with these new challenges, which are daunting – and exciting as well. I’m wondering what it says about us as a society that we give these 13 or 14-year-olds so much power. Is it positive or negative? I don’t know, but it’s a thing and I’m exploring the extremes of that. Fri 29 May
What’s the most valuable lesson you learned from the European Writers Lab? It’s incredible to see different, sometimes rigorous, approaches on writing, and to see very committed writers who take it very seriously. Writing is a very lonely existence most of the time and meeting other playwrights who are going through similar things is incredible, and to be so supported is amazing. Even though our work is different there are similar struggles in terms of the everyday reality of trying to write something down.
Glenn wrote “Natives” for the European Writers Lab Friday 29 May > Bellevue Theatre
Bellevue Theatre
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Theatre Café Festival
AMSTERDAM’S ARTISTIC TEAM
Toneelmakerij was founded in 2009 from a fusion of two theatre ensembles: Wederzijds and Huis aan de Amstel. Many years’ worth of expertise and experience were brought together in this new company that operates in the two domains of schools and theatres. From the outset, what bound these groups together was their shared love of the written word. So it’s no surprise that in the variegated landscape of theatre for young people in the Netherlands, it is the Toneelmakerij that fulfils such an important role in developing new theatre texts for young people. Together, the company’s in-house writers Ad de Bont (who retired 2012) and Roel Adam have been responsible for a large number of high-quality theatre texts, some of which have also found their way onto international stages. Toneelmakerij also commissions work from celebrated playwrights such as Peer Wittenbols and Ko van den Bosch, as well as upcoming talents Jorieke Abbing and Sofie Tseng, among others. There are ongoing collaborations with Tekstsmederij and theatre and writing schools, alongside projects that get young people engaged and stimulate them to write for the theatre.
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Toneelmakerij has put together a team for the Theatre Café Festival in Amsterdam made up of wellestablished heavyweights and younger talents.
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Artistic coordination
Liesbeth Coltof [l.] is the artistic director of Toneelmakerij, and she is responsible for the overall artistic coordination, besides directing two of the five staged readings on the programme. She and dramaturge Paulien Geerlings [r.] are the initiators and driving forces behind the European Writers Lab. Paulien Geerlings also oversees the artistic collaborations with key playwriting partners including Tekstsmederij, the dramaturgy masters programmes, the Writing for Performance programme at Utrecht School of the Arts, and the Nieuwe Toneelbibliotheek.
Moderator
Daniëlle Wagenaar will moderate the discussions following the staged readings. From 1996 to 2011 she was the artistic director of Het Syndicaat theatre company, where she made about three new plays each year. Wagenaar has been coaching young writers and theatre makers since 2006, and she is a frequent guest tutor at theatre programmes throughout the Netherlands.
Directors
Liesbeth Coltof, Paul Knieriem [l.] and Daniël van Klaveren [r.] are the directors of the staged readings. Knieriem has been a member of the core artistic team at Toneelmakerij since 2011 and so far he has four directorial credits to his name within the company. Van Klaveren is also a valued member of Toneelmakerij’s artistic team. He has been progressing successfully since 2010 as an actor as well as a director and writer.
Actors
Roel Adam Soumaya Ahouaoui André Dongelmans Peter van Heeringen Keja Klaasje Kwestro Dionisio Matias Tomer Pawlicki Meral Polat Lowie van Oers Dylan Smith Fleur Voorn Chiem Vreeken Chiara Wilde
Design
The young stage designer Marjolein Brouwer is responsible for the set design in the foyer of Krakeling Theatre. www. mebrouwer.com
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Jamal 2 Jamal is angry – not at anyone in particular but at everyone: at his parents, who can’t speak Dutch; at his school, where he is always ‘that foreign kid’; and at the West, and world politics as a whole. He hits out around him. Not with fists, but with words – because Jamal is a poet. He writes furious, menacing poetry. Now Jamal has to talk for half an hour every afternoon, otherwise he’ll be sent home from school. So there he is sitting with an old guy named Matthieu who asks question after question. The classroom is the arena where Jamal and Matthieu must do combat, where they strike out with sharp words and silent stares, where the battle will be won by poems about love and true love, by lessons from books and lessons from life, by getting to know yourself and by letting yourself know yourself. “Jamal” was made to be performed in the classroom, and next season will be its third in a row touring secondary schools in the Netherlands and Belgium.
“This classroom play is a real gem.” **** Theaterkrant
Director and writer Daniël van Klaveren Translator Rina Vergano Dramaturge Paulien Geerlings Cast Jamal: Majd Mardo, Matthieu: Peter van Heeringen Set and costume design Esmée Thomassen Thursday 28 May > 21.00 > Krakeling Theatre
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Performance
Thu 28 May > 21.00
Krakeling Theatre
The Aunties 8 (De Tantes) > Keep it in the family
Joris lives in an abandoned fish restaurant. And he’s alone, too, because he hasn’t got parents anymore. He doesn’t make his bed, he drinks five litres of coke every day, reads comics and never puts the rubbish out. Then, one day, Auntie Cunera, Auntie Jo and Auntie Desiree come hammering at the door. They’ve come to teach their little nephew some manners, and before he knows it they’ve occupied his home. His aunts have got big plans. They want to reopen the family restaurant. They wash out Joris’ ears and make him their manservant. So thank goodness a tramp manages to gain entry into this fortress run by aunties. The aunts get wind of the new occupant and a bloodcurdling battle ensues, with hot chilli peppers, perfect disguises and blatant bribery.
“The Aunties is a divinely good play!” ***** Theaterkrant
Friday 29 May > 19.30 > Bellevue Theatre
Nominated in 2015 for the Gouden Krekel >
the Netherlands’ most important award for theatre for young people, for most impressive theatre production. Text Roel Adam Translator Steve Green Director Paul Knieriem Cast Tjebbo Gerritsma Peter van Heeringen Rogier in ’t Hout Anil Jagdewsing and Keja Klaasje Kwestro Dramaturge Paulien Geerlings Set design Katrin Bombe Costume design Bernadette Corstens Performance
Fri 29 May > 19.30
Bellevue Theatre
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The Beginning of Everything 5 (Het Begin Van Alles) > Construction kit for the young philosopher
How difficult would it be to create a world? First, imagine everything is gone. No land, no sea, no dads, no mums – no you and no me. Just a great big jumbled-up Mess. Removal men Ron and Sjon arrive centre stage, surrounded by crates and in front of a packed audience of children – but there’s no-one around to sign for delivery. While they’re waiting they use the stuff in the crates to build a paradise, and create the light of the sun and the moon. They imagine plants and coconuts into life. They fight monsters and the ancient gods who want to take control. They conjure up a giraffe, a caterpillar and a Sjonita. And once the playing is done, and everything has been made, it’s a great big Mess all over again – but a wonderful one.
“The play about creation myths is as simple as it is ingenious.” **** Trouw
Concept Liesbeth Coltof and Rieks Swarte Translator Steve Green Director Liesbeth Coltof Cast Roel Adam Tjebbo Gerritsma and Laurien Riha Dramaturge Paulien Geerlings Stage design Rieks Swarte Costume design Carly Everaert
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Performance
Sat 30 May > 16.00
Krakeling Theatre
Saturday 30 May > 16.00 > Krakeling Theatre
Other events on the Theatre Café Festival programme Grand Writers’ Supper in association with Tekstsmederij Dinner with Dutch playwriting in the starring role. Tekstsmederij’s world is all about freshly wrought Dutch theatre texts, bringing poetic and raw vistas on society; great, universal tragedies; razor-sharp comedies; and small, personal stories. What they all have in common is that they are rooted in the here and now; that they shine a light on new talented playwrights; and that they forge connections between new generations of writers and directors. Tekstsmederij was founded in early 2010 by the young playwrights Timen Jan Veenstra and Malou de Roy van Zuydewijn, and they still chart its course
together. Tekstsmederij’s home base is Bellevue Theatre and the organisation works extensively with Toneelmakerij and Daniëlle Wagenaar, among others. www.tekstsmederij.nl
---------------------------------------Friday 29 May > 17.30 > Toneelmakerij ----------------------------------------
Theatre Café TV Don’t be surprised if a young-looking reporter suddenly appears in front of you holding a microphone, because throughout the festival a group of schoolgoers will be making news items about various aspects of the Theatre Café Festival – under the auspices of Toneelmakerij. Their news items will be
available for viewing on Toneelmakerij’s YouTube channel at > www.youtube.com/user/Toneelmakerij
International Youth Encounter The International Youth Encounter will be held in Berlin from 18 to 23 July 2015. The four new texts written through the European Writers Lab programme will form the basis of this five-day exchange. It will bring together 32 people aged 18 to 25 from Oslo, London, Berlin and Amsterdam to explore, improvise and perform. The International Youth Encounter will conclude with a public presentation.
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Theatre Café Festival european PARTNERS >> Toneelmakerij
Toneelmakerij is Amsterdam’s theatre company and theatre house for children, young people and the adults in their lives. We make adventurous and refreshing plays that spring from our engagement with society at large. Our work ranges from large-scale and complex technical productions to intimate, small-scale classroom-based pieces and plays performed off the beaten track at unexpected locations. We always use imagination and humour to place reality in a fresh perspective, opening up opportunities for emotional engagement, reflection and new encounters. Our first loves and primary focuses are text and language, arts education, language development and international theatre. Toneelmakerij is the resident theatre company at Amsterdam’s Krakeling Theatre and Bellevue Theatre, the local partners for the Amsterdam Theatre Café Festival. We perform our plays in the Netherlands and Belgium and sometimes beyond. www.toneelmakerij.nl
erij
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ak de toneelm
Company of Angels
Company of Angels creates new and experimental theatre. We nurture the next generation of theatre makers. We bring plays, artists and ideas from Europe. We engage with a range of artistic forms. Young people are at the heart of all we do. We achieve our mission by creating bold and inventive work for young audiences and adults alike; challenging artists’ preconceptions about what they can create for young people; creating work that reflects the ongoing changes in British society; and initiating new models of practice. The company is strongly influenced by European theatre practice and is very proud of its decade of Theatre Café Festivals, promoting the most exciting plays from across Europe. www.companyofangels.co.uk
Imploding Fictions and Oslo International Theatre
Oslo International Theatre (Oslo Internasjonale Teater, OIT) discovers contemporary international plays not seen previously in Norway, translates them into Norwegian, and regularly produces rehearsed readings of these plays. Our performances are open to the public, but we also target the theatre industry in order to promote the plays to Norwegian theatres and theatre companies. Launched in 2009, OIT started as a collaboration between Imploding Fictions and Teatersirkus. Today OIT is run by the international theatre company Imploding Fictions. www.implodingfictions.com
GRIPS Theater
GRIPS is the founder of “emancipatory theatre”. It was the first theatre in the world to take a socio-critical approach to making original, funny and musical plays about the lives and living conditions of children and young people. For the last 40 years, GRIPS has been uniquely successful developing on these ideas, while always remaining open to new content, impulses and artistic signatures. This is a theatre that gives its audience the courage to know they can change their world, however large or small that world may be. GRIPS is a theatre ensemble and a writer’s theatre. Its founder and long-time artistic director Volker Ludwig has written more than 40 plays for children, young people and adults, and he continues to work at the theatre as author and executive director. In 2011, GRIPS for the first time appointed a new artistic director, Stefan Fischer-Fels. His brief is to maintain the basic principles of GRIPS Theater: to tell strong and relevant stories, to be open to new narrative styles and contemporary aesthetics, and to have a continuing awareness of childhood and adolescence today. www.grips-theater.de
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Practical information Directions from the Volkshotel to Krakeling Theatre and Toneelmakerij Route 1 journey time of 19 minutes (1 change) From Wibautstraat metro station take the 53 or 51 metro train travelling to Centraal Station. Get off at Weesperplein metro station and change to tram 7 travelling to Slotermeer or tram 10 travelling to Westergasfabriek. Get off the tram at the Elandsgracht stop, which is 5 minutes’ walk from Krakeling and 8 minutes’ walk from Toneelmakerij. If your destination is Toneelmakerij and you are travelling by tram 10, you can go one stop further along and get off at the Marnixstraat/Rozengracht stop. Route 2 journey time of 25 minutes (no changes). Walk to Weesperplein, which takes about 15 minutes. Take tram 7 travelling to Slotermeer or tram 10 travelling to
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Westergasfabriek. Step off the tram at Elandsgracht. This stop is five minutes’ walk from Krakeling and eight minutes’ walk from Toneelmakerij. If your destination is Toneelmakerij and you are travelling by tram 10, you can go one stop further along and get off at Marnixstraat/ Rozengracht. Return journey Reverse the above routes to return. The destination is Flevopark for tram 7 and Azartplein for tram 10. The destination is Gaasperplas for metro 53 and Westwijk for metro 51. The last trams depart at 0:12 (tram 10) and 0:20 (tram 7). Night buses will be running after these times. The public transport journey planner is at www.9292.nl The GVB day ticket and multi-day ticket allow unlimited travel by tram, bus and metro within Amsterdam. They can be purchased at any Tickets & Info Point or GVB Service Point. Taxi +31 20 7777777
Adresses > 1 > Toneelmakerij Lauriergracht 99C 1016 RJ Amsterdam Office: +31 20 5226070 Mobile (Meta Weyschedé) +31 6 46067917 2 > Krakeling Theatre Nieuwe Passeerdersstraat 1 1016 XP Amsterdam 3 > Bellevue Theatre Leidsekade 90 1017 PN Amsterdam 4 > Volkshotel Wibautstraat 150 1091 GR Amsterdam +31 20 2612100
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Toneelmakerij Liesbeth Coltof – Artistic Director Erica van Eeghen – Managing Director Roel Adam – Writer and Actor Jan Arwert – Bookkeeper Vera van Baal – Production Neeltje van Balkom – Marketing and Fundraising Wieke ten Cate – Education Paulien Geerlings – Dramaturge Tjebbo Gerritsma – Actor Peter van Heeringen – Actor Sophie de Hoop – Technician Yvette van der Horst – Education and Bookings Eva van Kerkhof – Office Manager Daniël van Klaveren – Director Paul Knieriem – Director Jos Koedood – Technician Martien Langman – Education Elselien Leemhuis – Marketing and Publicity Leonie van Tol – Education and Bookings Toos Vos – Marketing and Publicity trainee Meta Weyschedé – Head of Production and Chief Technician
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European Writer Lab
Texts Neeltje van Balkom and Elselien Leemhuis (marketing), Susanne Visser (dramaturge) Translator and English copy editor Steve Green Photos Andrea Haugerud Hovik, Jocelyne Moreau, Trond Peter Stamsø Munch, Barbara Juch, Anna Stöcher, Thron Ullberg Drawings Sarah Jonker Design Esther de Boer - Es & Zn. Theatre Café Festival was made possible by support from