The Nation
Eric de Vroedt/Het Nationale Theater
dates
Fri 13.03, 00:18
location
DE SINGEL
duration
300 min. (incl. 2 breaks of 20 min.)
language
Dutch spoken
Info
The Nation is a contemporary theatre thriller about Dutch multicultural society gone mad. It starts with a mystery: the eleven-year old Ismaël has vanished without trace. What happens next is a search through every layer of society. In six tense episodes, The Nation holds up a mirror to image forming and identity: what image do we have of the other and what image do we present of ourselves? Do we see the other as an individual or as a stereotype? How much effort do we make to look beyond the mask of the other, and when do we allow our own masks to fall away? In the continuous battle to determine, protect or fight for our own identity, we quickly lose sight of what life is really about.
An eleven-year old child has disappeared. Where you expect a joint search operation, we mainly see rogue individuals who regard this tragedy as an opportunity to raise their profiles.
Credits
with Saman Amini, Bram Coopmans, Tamar van den Dop, Hein van der Heijden, Jacqueline Blom, Keja Klaasje Kwestro, Mark Rietman, Vanja Rukavina, Pieter van der Sman, Mahfoud Mokaddem, Romana Vrede & Kayen Thode | concept, text & direction Eric de Vroedt | texts Joeri Vos & Saman Amini | direction child & assistant direction Abdel Daoudi | dramaturgy Willemijn Barelds & Remco van Rijn | set design Maze de Boer | costume design Lotte Goos | light design & video Bernie van Velzen | music & composition Remco de Jong & Florentijn Boddendijk
Jury
So The Nation takes binge watching to a whole new level. Its very length generates a very special sense of community. It is the same feeling the Greeks must have had when they sat through three tragedies and a satyr play in one day.
—Jury report
Pers
The Nation by Eric de Vroedt is the theatre event of the year.
—NRC