Questions of life
A bird’s-eye-view of the artistic landscape reveals a mixture of theatre, dance, music and new media and all the possible hybrids between them. Though it may be possible to differentiate between individual theatre companies and music-theatre companies, many performances are multi-disciplinary. Speeltheater Holland, for instance, makes performances with puppets, actors, dancers, musicians and film images. And Theater Sonnevanck gives voice to primal fears in the scary forest of fairytales, such as Hansel and Gretel, with a combination of physical performance
and modern music. But there are also theatre companies that specialise in a specific genre, such as textual theatre. The subject matter in the performances is equally varied and may deal with anything from the colourful imagination of a toddler or a young person’s questions about life to the dark realities of the world news. The work of the theatre company Huis aan de Amstel, for instance, ranges from the marvellous winter fairytale Wolf! or the production Storm*Gek about the experiences of a girl with divorced parents, to the life of homeless children, shoe-cleaners and film stars in a show about the hectic city of Bombay. Youth theatre is a place where children and adults are confronted with both the large and small questions of life.
International and intercultural
Dutch youth theatre is often known abroad for breaking new ground. International exchanges extend from Europe to America and even to Russia and Korea. Companies such as Huis aan de Amstel, Het Waterhuis, Theatergroep Wederzijds, Theater Artemis, Stella Den Haag, Theatergroep Max., Speeltheater Holland, Theater Terra and Het Filiaal are guests that are welcomed abroad with open arms.
For example, in the 2006-2007 season Het Filiaal took the theatrical family concert Baron Rabinovitsj to Broadway, New York. And in St. Louis, a remake of De Oceaanvlucht van Kapitein Lindberg/Captain Lindbergh’s Ocean Flight attracted a staggering 60,000 visitors. The company is not alone in enjoying this American success. Artistic director Onny Huisink of Speeltheater Holland is a regular guest director with The Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis and his colleague Moniek Merkx, from Theatergroep Max., also directed a performance in Minneapolis. Dutch youth theatre makers regard working in the technically well-equipped American youth theatres as a challenge, and the subject matter of Dutch youth theatre is likewise a challenge for the Americans. Individual tours by a company usually take place because of the specific aura of the performances. Stella Den Haag appeals to the imagination of international audiences by creating musical theatre packed with weird and wonderful effects. And Theatergroep Max. can always count on a warm welcome abroad thanks to the astonishing way the company approaches its productions.
This international collaboration covers international workshops, foreign tours and exchanges between guest directors and other theatre makers, and it regularly results in groundbreaking co-productions between companies.
Experimental theatre
Youth theatre makers in the Netherlands love to cross existing boundaries. In the last thirty years, youth theatre developed from the traditional fairytale theatre to engaged, less didactic, and artistically valuable work. Such writers as Pauline Mol, Ad de Bont, Hans van den Boom, Heleen Verburg and children’s author Imme Dros developed a repertoire for a young public, and later, young writers such as Esther Gerritsen and Benny Lindelauf followed in their footsteps. The tendency to tailor classic texts from the world repertoire to suit children is still popular. Theatre makers who adapt texts for children from the Ancient Greeks to Shakespeare, or the absurdist Ionesco, assume that children are well able to understand the underlying meaning. In daily life, the young public is also confronted with classical themes such as power, death or sexuality, and just like adults they recognize themselves in great emotions such as love, hate, fear or aggression. The reinterpretation of classic scripts represented a prelude to a personal style of writing for youth theatre. Within the framework defined by these stories, the actors were able to experiment with the dramaturgy, the narrative style and the use of language for young audiences. The range is now as extensive as in youth literature, which was in turn also a huge source of inspiration.
A relatively new instrument in this respect is the use of scripts that reflect children’s lives in a contemporary family setting. Lives that include biological parents, step-parents, and brothers and sisters that can also be half-brothers and sisters or step-brothers and sisters.
The habit of telling logical and linear stories to children has largely been abandoned in youth theatre. Children appear to be very susceptible to performances that, like dreams, are full of imaginative and leaping associations. In recent times, the repertoire has been set in a picturesque and daring way. Theatre makers allow themselves to be inspired by literature, poetry, music, dance, cabaret and puppetry, and they experiment with all sorts of performance styles. The design is exuberant and mirrors the styles in the visual arts.
The development of the national Jeugdtheaterfestival (Youth Theatre Festival) into the children’s arts festival Tweetakt is exemplary for the recent history of youth theatre. It began in 1984 as a festival of drama, music-theatre and puppetry. Later, it grew into an experimental arts festival which, in addition to theatre, presented dance, music and film for children. In 2007 it had grown into a festival covering the entire gamut of arts disciplines for the young, ranging from interactive
multi-media theatre to a ‘Little Biennale’ with visual art for children.
A look at the future
The future of youth theatre is looking good. For many years, people worried about where the next generation of youth theatre-makers would come from, but the tide has now turned and we are seeing a growing group of new and exciting theatre-makers. These youthful producers are not simply following in the footsteps of their predecessors; they are following their own hearts. They are paving a wonderful, theatrical path out through a city or creating a show full of water-creatures in a spherical, floating theatre. They design a Mensenmuseum/People Museum or produce a Voorstelling waarin hopelijk niets gebeurt/Performance in which hopefully. And they do not envisage a future dominated by an eternal bond with young audiences. To them, it is only natural to switch between adults and children. This concept is in line with that of numerous experienced theatre-makers who have been making this cross-over for many years. More and more companies catering to both types of audience are starting to emerge. Huis aan de Amstel is now producing shows for adults as well as youth theatre. Wederzijds, which specialises in shows for the classroom and the gym, also produces target group theatre about civil servants, the army or healthcare institutions. And in much the same way, het Onafhankelijk Toneel or Toneelgroep Amsterdam also creates youth theatre productions.
The boundaries between theatre for children and theatre for adults are blurring. Youth theatre performances are no less enjoyable for parents than for children, and alternatively, young people readily go to see adult theatre. In the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, theatrical concerts for children and youngsters are performed. The large festivals reflect this trend and they often have a ‘children’s department’ in addition to their regular repertoire.
Companies, theatres, concert halls and festivals increasingly programme for the young, the old and the entire family and some youth theatre makers even entertain the idea of making performances for an adult audience about the life and experience of children. A child’s outlook is, after all, an inspiration for young and old alike.
Anita Twaalfhoven
