This edition of Why Theatre?! deals with ‘collaborative writing’ and the relationship between writer, performer, and public. A talk with Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour and the Dutch theater group Nachtgasten about new theater formats, improvisation, and audience participation.
Soleimanpour’s Blank has its world premiere at the festival, a performance without set or director, and with the life story of an audience member as the point of departure. Soleimanpour asks himself: is it possible to create a living machine, that can tell 1000 stories? He already played with ‘game’ structures and coincidence is his previous plays White Rabbit, Red Rabbit and Hamlet. Nachtgasten focusses on improvisation as an art form, and for the festival, they bring Dutch and Middle Eastern actors together on stage.
Why Theatre?! is a collaboration of Het Huis Utrecht, Theater Studies / Utrecht University, and Dancing on the Edge.
