A Case for the Existence of God
With A Case for the Existence of God, director Erik Whien presents a heartfelt plea for hope, even when all seems lost. In this new play by American playwright Samuel D. Hunter, we see an unlikely friendship develop between two fathers. Two men who at first glance have nothing in common, except that they are both grandly taken to task by life. That adversity is the basis for a connection that may have something great, or divine, hidden within it.
Festival Nederlands Theater Festival
Venue Grote Zaal
Duration 90 minutes
Genre theater
Language Dutch
Official jury selection 2024
Two single fathers (played by Emmanuel Ohene Boafo and Bram Suijker) fight for custody of their daughters. One is struggling with money problems, the other with complicated adoption procedures. Both, after all the problems of the past, are now also weighed down by the constant fear of failing in their fatherhood. How to keep hope when disappointment almost paralyses you?
From the jury report
A Case for the Existence of God is a performance without embellishment, in which the focus is entirely on actors Emmanuel Ohene Boafo (who plays Kevin) and Bram Suijker (Bryan). The contrasting harmony that seems to be at the heart of the play is expressed with particular intensity and inventiveness in the interplay of these two actors.
-|- Emmanuel Ohene Boafo and Bram Suijker have been nominated for the Theo d'Or for the most impressive acting performance in a supporting role 2024.
REVIEWS
De Volkskrant
'Erik Whien makes the voices of two completely different people sound harmonious'
NRC
'Actors Emmanual Ohene Boafo and Bram Suijker excel'
5 - 15 September
Nederlands Theater Festival
Nederlands Theater Festival (NTF) marks the festive start of the new theatre season. For eleven days, NTF presents the finest, most impressive performances of the past season, based on the choices of seven independent juries from the Netherlands and Flanders. Thus, NTF celebrates many genres and forms of theatre: drama, cabaret, youth theatre, mime, performance and more.
The festival starts with the always talked-about lecture De Staat van het Theater and the in-depth interview The State of the World with a famous international artist. The festival concludes with a celebratory presentation of the Netherlands' most important theatre awards during The Gala of Dutch Theatre.
Credits
text Samuel D. Hunter
directed by Erik Whien
play Emmanuel Ohene Boafo, Bram Suijker
translation Vera Morina, Erik Whien
dramaturgy Brecht De Backer
scenography Marloes and Wikke
lighting design Julian Maiwald
costume design Rebekka Wörmann
music Thijs van Vuure
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production director Andrea van Bussel
technique Hein van Leeuwen, Jimmy Niesen, Peter Leeuwenburgh
props Noa Muller
marketing & communication Astrid de Haas, Marloes Reuderink
photography campaign image Annaleen Louwes
scene photography Sanne Peper
video Marte Bosma, Huub Laurens
design Victoria Scherpenberg, Studio Vandiesen
context and education Anne Sollie, Joëlle Raus Prudence
with thanks to Priscilla Livingstone, Sara Hakkenberg/costume atelier, Theater Rotterdam, Fleur Godthelp, Nicky Meurer, Maaike Kuijken, Julia van Berkel, Wim Bechtold, Eylül Fidan Akıncı, Maurice Dujardin