Artist Talk: Alize Zandwijk

In this edition of our programme Artist Talks, our moderator Carolien Borgers joins the audience in a conversation with director Alize Zandwijk, after the performance Birds of a Kind.

Alize Zandwijk is a Dutch director. She studied at the Academy for Expression by Word and Gesture in Kampen. From 2006 to 2016, she was artistic leader of the Ro Theater. During this period, she was responsible for the company's artistic policy together with Guy Cassiers. Together they achieved success with Cassiers' Proust cycle and with Zandwijk's international work. The company mainly brought the repertoire of Chekhov (Platonov) and Shakespeare (Richard III) up to a book adaptation like Bernlef's Hersenschimmen.

Zandwijk introduced important new repertoire in the Netherlands. She directed Onschuld by Dea Loher, one of the most important contemporary German authors, and with the Flemish Arne Sierens she created a modern Chekhov, Meiskes en Jongens. After Cassiers' departure, Carel Alons became intendant for the transitional period, and the artistic leadership came in the hands of Alize Zandwijk. She made two major changes: she rebuilt the ensemble and made the intention of the Ro Theater to be rooted in the city a priority in the company's policy.

In 1997 Zandwijk won The Proscenium Prize, one of the VSCD awards. Her work can often be summarized as anti-elitist, raw and committed, with many things happening simultaneously and intertwined. She shows compassion for the underside of society, which she portrays with humour and fantasy. In her policy for Ro Theater, she focuses on anchoring the company in Rotterdam, working with international partners and working with young directors.-|-
On 24 June 2016, Alize Zandwijk said goodbye to the Ro Theater as director and artistic director after 18 years. In honour of her farewell, an overview book of her work was published, Alize Zandwijk - 18 years of Ro Theater 1998 - 2016. This book covers the entire period and the 38 performances she created with this Rotterdam company, such as Nachtasiel, Dood van een Handelsreiziger, Branden, Onschuld and Moeders. She continued her career at the Theater Bremen as Oberspielleier, for which she received the Kurt-Hubner-Preis in 2020.

In season 22|23, Alize Zandwijk directs the ITA ensemble for the first time. Vögel (2019), based on a book by Wajdi Mouawad, previously achieved great success in Germany and is now being staged in Dutch for the first time, in a translation by Tom Kleijn. Wajdi Mouawad's work was put firmly on the map in the Netherlands by Alize Zandwijk. From him, she previously directed Bossen (2014), Kust (2012) and Branden (2010), which became a theatre hit.

Prior to the Artist Talk, ITA ensemble / Alize Zandwijk's performance Birds of a Kind can be seen, but also be more than welcome to join the Artist Talk only