Newspapers | The first version of that intro read: "Simone Zeefuik (43) from Amsterdam..." Bijlmer, beloveds. I'm from Bijlmer. It's a love I inherited from my grandmother, her cousins and two of my mentors so that correction was important to me. I appreciated the interview! Two more weeks to see Sisterhood, directed by the good sis Romana Vrede. Text a cousin, bring a friend. Tour dates and ticket link are on the website of Theater Rotterdam.
The Sisterhood script is published. Cute little book, too. To buy it, please check the website of De Nieuwe Toneelbibliotheek (The New Theater Library). Sisterhood is script 959. Yes, that will absolutely be a future easter egg.
Saturday March 28: Last GembertheeSessies of the forever. Until for always. This edition, featuring @sheralynnadriaansz and @janildabartolomeu , will be in Dutch. And, it will be in the afternoon: from 15.00h-17.30h. Sheralynn is preparing a lecture about Blackness in NL's theatre world. Janilda will screen one of her gems about the Cape Verdian diaspora’s proverbial Eleventh Island (Rotterdam). After that, a conversation I'm very much looking forward to. And, a goodbye toast to the Bijlmer Parktheater-part of my life. There won't be tears, there might be cake.
As always, the ginger tea is made by @labyrinthamsterdam . If you know you'll join us next week, please buy your ticket(s) in advance so we can place a proper order. Ticket link in bio.
Behind on many things but this I must post now-now: Only two more shows of the play Heldendaad. If you're in NL and haven't seen it yet... and you speak Dutch... please book your tickets as soon as possible. I just saw the play and, my goodness... what a piece! It was tender, funny, original, vulnerable and protective. I regret not having seen it before because I would have gone at least two more times. Congratulations, @nelgina_ and Talisha Nelson. I'm looking forward to seeing much, more of your work! 🤎✨️
Last two shows: tomorrow (March 14) and March 18. Let's goooo!
Speaking of fam, admiration and riding at dawn: dr. Charl @landvreugd . His invitation to be part of his @nulgraad project was one of last year's favourites. To be in conversation with him at Friday's publication launch is something I'm very much looking forward to.
We start at 18.00h; please check the 2nd slide for the program and event info. Tell a cousin, bring a group chat.
Location: SHEBANG (new location!)
Repetitie van Sisterhood!
Sisterhood is een kritische liefdesbrief over samen zijn, over jezelf kunnen zijn en je soms toch de ander voelen – zelfs binnen je eigen gemeenschap.
Mag je van elkaar verschillen, ook als je op elkaar lijkt?
📅 5 maart – 26 april
📍 TR25 Schouwburg
🔗 tr.nl/sisterhood
📷 @amandaharput
A few months ago, the darling professor Gloria Wekker and I had a fantastic time in Kaapstad. On top of all that sweetness sat a cherry we will forever remember: professor Wekker's birthday dinner with our good friend Felix, slam poet Laniëlle Hartzenberg and Laniëlle's aunt... dr. Diana Ferrus. We ate good, we talked, we threw our heads back as we laughed, raised our glasses to toast to good livin' and... we listened, breathlessly, as dr. Diana Ferrus recited her poem "I've come to take you home". This poem played a crucial part in bringing Sarah Baartman's body parts from that cold French museum depot back to South Africa soil. Sitting across dr. Ferrus at the dinner table and hearing her read the poem in both English and Afrikaans, was a dream. Hearing her recount the words of the pilot as he landed the plane that brought Sarah Baartman back home, was so moving. And yes, I almost fainted when professor Wekker said: "Simone is writing a play and she named one of the women after you!" Dr. Ferrus' reaction was remarkable and encouraging and sweet and lovingly curious and everything you hope when meeting someone you admire so.
Two weeks ago, professor Wekker and I shared our memories with three great students from Toneelacademie Maastricht. We talked about Sarah Baartman and talked about how Ferrus, one of the characters in Sisterhood, was named after the Poet who wrote her back home. 30 minutes after our conversation, prof. and I received a sad message: dr. Ferrus passed away. We were stunned. Sad. And thankful for that wonderful evening.
🤎 to Romana and Aukje for being so sweet to prof and I as the message sunk in.
The history of the woman named Sarah Baartman, is an important one. In that, dr. Ferrus' work played a crucial part. Contrary to what we expected, dr. Ferrus will not get a state funeral. If you'd like to/can contribute to her funeral, please check slide 2 & 3 with info provided by her niece Laniëlle.
To describe the kind of play our director @romanavrede is shaping Sisterhood into? The word is 'Lush', darlings. Together with her artistic crew and the @theaterrotterdam fam, she's pouring into a work that soothingly matches our tastes in spoken, sonic and visual languages. Knowing her, is knowing that the end result will be an orchestra of dancehall airhorns. Sisterhood is a critical lovenote about togetherness, told through the stories of Tasneem (@adanna_unigwe ), Ferrus (@justshaynah ), Toni (@nikinicg ), Dimi (@ritzah_statia ), Opal (@itsjnm ), Helen (@denisejannahmusic ) and Leo (@susanmalaikabailey ). Seven folks who are having A Day.
Be sure to get your tickets to come see the play, yes. And, our conversations about the work process are not to be missed. This is where we'll discuss the expertise, the artistic choices, the references and the different kinds of imaginations at the center of this play. These gatherings offer behind the scenes peakings but in a "soft sofa- ginger tea- let me play you this song or movie clip really quick- wait, who made the Johnny cakes and cassava soup?!"- kind of way. Basically, it'll be punk band hoodies + improv sing-alongs to Os Tubarões, Little Simz, Björk and Sade in the living rooms of your nerdie friends.
❗️The play is in Dutch and all talks will be in Dutch as well.
Check the Sisterhood page on the website of @theaterrotterdam for more info about these talks.
Next up: Saturday February 21, BPT Studio at @bijlmerparktheater with @tonishannenblackwell (assistent director), @henryotawiah (assistent choreographer), Romana Vrede and myself (playwright).
Please note: The cast will =not= be giving a preview this evening. But/so, here's a Boomerang of them. Thanks for letting me borrow it, cousin Toni.
A colleague wanted to 'hop on a quick call'. I said my work day was already packed. They replied: "Can we call on your lunch break?!" Is that... not the opposite of me being on a lunch break? How would I even chew?? So, no. Sjeez. Are we really never ever going back to that time of a slower pace and more Quiet? Love to those of us trying our best to un-circus the madness and slow things aaaaaaall the way down again.
Image: a picture of Esiri Erheriene-Essi's painting 'Out to lunch'. Come join us at Bijlmer Parktheater this Saturday afternoon* for a GembertheeSessies where we'll discuss her work process and references.
*January 24, 15.00h, Amsterdam-Bijlmer.
GembertheeSessies with @esiri.essi : Saturday January 24, 15.00h-16.30h at @bijlmerparktheater . A few years ago I had the pleasure to hear Esiri talk about her work, process and references. When I tell you her mind is exciting-exciting...
My current talks about future programs often include one question: "Hhhmmm-hhhmm, yes, of course... but/and, can we do that in the afternoon?" Pfeeew, 40-something-me loves a good matinee. We can still do all the things! We darken the room, project images, light candles, serve tea... and we can still make it to the restaurant or kitchen in time to have dinner at 18.30h. And be on someone's sofa -perhaps our own- at 22.00h.
Something in the water, something in the stars, something in the snow... I don't know. It just feels like a great year for cuddling and curling up.
Tickets for the GembertheeSessies = Bijlmer Parktheater website.
I put together a theater quiz for those of us who are chilling on warm sofa's or stuck in delayed trains. True true, compared to Norway, Denmark and Greenland, ours is just baby-snow. Still, it's enough to shut down public transportation and have venues cancel their programs. The sidewalks and roads are slippery-slippery. Why city governments are sending out scanner-cars to check if people paid for parking 📣 instead of vehicles that can clear the roads and sidewalks of ice📣 ? Great question.
Because our community lost two legends this weekend, I don't really have a funny caption to add. May we continue to give people their flowers while they, themselves, can still enjoy them.
Quiz: Link in bio. Pin: 02558644.
The quiz is in Dutch. Have fun.
Picture: A still from Cherish Menzo's play 'FRANK', one of the greatest pieces I saw last year. They're touring from March 18-April 18 in the Netherlands. It's a dance performance with English texts + snippets of French and Sranan, both translated in English. Vibe: a blend of winti, Caribbean carnival and Christina Sharpe. Be sure to go see it, at least twice.
Hoe staat het met jouw goede voornemens?
Meer rust. Beter ademen. Meer balans. Maar hoe doe je dat, als de wereld steeds harder draait en steeds meer van je vraagt?
In Bitemarks on her tongue onderzoekt maker @sueannbel wat er gebeurt wanneer het verlangen naar controle en welzijn botst met de werkelijkheid. Een fysieke, muzikale en beeldende wervelwind over zelfoptimalisatie, ingehouden woede en de vraag: hoe leef je eigenlijk?
Voor iedereen die dit jaar balanceert tussen goede bedoelingen en de chaos daaromheen.
Reserveer nu 🔗 tr.nl/bitemarks
📅 Tour dates
📍 11 feb - @theaterrotterdam
📍 12 feb - @theaterrotterdam
📍 19 feb – @bijlmerparktheater
📍 20 feb - @schuurhaarlem
📍 21 feb - @schuurhaarlem
📍 24 feb – @theateraanderijn
📍 27 feb – @frascatiamsterdam
📍 28 feb – @frascatiamsterdam
📍 01 mrt – @theaterrotterdam
📹 Huub Laurens
