Phobiarama
Dries Verhoeven
dates
Info
UNFORTUNATELY, THIS PRODUCTION CANNOT BE REVIVED.
Dries Verhoeven draws attention to a new theatre of fear created by the tactics of terrorists, politicians and some media. In Phobiarama, which had its Dutch première at the Holland Festival in 2017, he stages their strategies in a twenty-first century haunted house.
Verhoeven: “Located deep in the brain are our fear receptors: the amygdalae, two groups of nuclei which are responsible for processing stimuli related to fear. In the face of a potential threat, they decide if we should fight or flee. This is usually a reflex action, automatic. In recent years our amygdalae have been working overtime. Though our continent has never been as safe as it is now, rarely have we been this anxious. We are constantly challenged to distinguish between real threats and cooked-up conspiracies. Politicians, marketeers and terrorists are only too ready to exploit this state of mind, forcing us to be ever vigilant. They target our fear receptors to great effect. That’s what Phobiarama is about.”
Credits
concept Dries Verhoeven | production Studio Dries Verhoeven | cast Michelangelo Hansen, Faiz Faouzi, Malcolm Hugo Glenn, Rodney Glunder, Rosario Roumou, Virginio Papa, Zouhair Mtazi, Tony Cakkie, Nabil Mallat, Rudolf Vooys and Andreas Koundourakis | dramaturgy Lara Staal | casting Renske Pluimers | adaptation Athene Theodora Kapralou |sound design S.M. Snider | software Sylvain Vriens | costumes Tentacle Studio | development of technical system Nelissen Decorbouw | video design (stage) Casper Wortmann |stage direction Carmen Schwarz | photography Willem Popelier and Kiki Papadopoulou | video trailer Bowie Verschuuren | Phobiarama was made possible thanks to the Creative Industries Fund NL, Prince Bernhard Culture Fund, NORMA Fund and VSB Fund.
Jury
Phobiarama is pure ‘shudder entertainment’ with an abrasive underlying message. After your ride, you are more aware than ever of the evil mechanisms of fear, and you cannot fail to view your surroundings and fellow men in a differently light.
—Jury report