Desirée
A gripping story about a young Black woman, a young mother, struggling with her demons and mental health. Inspired by a story that appeared in The New York Times in 1980, but has lost none of its relevance.
Festival Lieve Stad, 750
Run time 75 minutes
Genre Theatre
Language Dutch
After talk with The Need for Legacy
Desirée
Desirée tells the story of a marginalized young black woman struggling against exclusion and institutional racism. As she slowly sinks into a dream world between reality, madness and hope, Desirée offers an unadulterated look at the challenges experienced by many young people today.
Desirée was written by Norman de Palm and Felix de Rooy in 1980 and is once again brought to the theater by RIGHTABOUTNOW INC. by Ritzah Statia (acting) and Marjorie Boston (directing).
De Palm and De Rooy inspired their award-winning play on a true story published in the New York Times ('80), which was basis for a theatrical monologue that is still relevant today.
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Actress Ritzah Statia is a physical playwright, mimer and urban dancer with Afro-Caribbean roots. She won Best of Fringe 2021 with her solo Kibra Silensio and starred in The Story of Travis, for which she was nominated for the theater award "the Colombina. Statia also co-directed the remake of RAN INC's impactful 2023 play KINGS. Director Marjorie Boston, founder of RIGHTABOUTNOW INC. directed the successful performances Queen of disco (winner Playwriting Award 2023), Tori and Status, among others.
Both the performance Desirée and the film of the same name marked the international breakthrough of Felix de Rooy and Norman de Palm, both from Curaçao. In 1983 they settled in the Netherlands with Illushion Kosmiko/Cosmic Illusion and, together with theater company De Nieuw Amsterdam (DNA) of directors Rufus Collins and Henk Tjon, they forever changed the Dutch theater landscape as pioneers of professional black theater.
After talk with The Need for Legacy
After the performance Desirée, we invite you to the Pleinfoyer for an in-depth after-talk with RIGHTABOUTNOW INC. and The Need for Legacy, in which creators and researchers reflect on the importance of this iconic 1980s production. RAN shares special archive material from the Cosmic/DNA archive, including unique footage of Desirée taken by Felix de Rooy and Norman de Palm. The Need for Legacy gives an insight into the design and research process, and discusses why unlocking these stories is still urgent today. A writer captures the conversation live in an article created on the spot. Expect an inspiring conversation about memory, representation and countering exclusion in archives.
More about RIGHTABOUTNOW INC.
RIGHTABOUTNOW INC. (RAN INC.) is an interdisciplinary hip-hop and urban production house and urban center for performing arts in Amsterdam. RAN INC. brings a new generation of creators and artists to the limelight by producing events, exhibitions and social projects at home and abroad. It coaches and curates emerging artists from different (sub)cultures and disciplines, from music and contemporary art to dance and theater. As a “Center for the urban arts,” she believes in diversity as the most powerful source of cultural and artistic innovation.
REVIEWS
NRC
'A poignant portrait of a young mother in the grip of religious madness.'
De Volkskrant
'The tragedy ‘Desirée’ effortlessly makes you sympathize with a woman sinking deeper into her psychosis.'
Theaterkrant
'A haunting portrait of a mother in spiritual distress.'
NPO Radio 1
'You go as a viewer through the caverns of the soul of this woman, this black woman'
Haarlems Dagblad
'This story still has topical value. It's important to keep telling it, and in Desirée that happens in a poignant way.'
Credits
performance Ritzah Statia
director Marjorie Boston
script Felix de Rooy, Norman de Palm
script translation Maarten van Hinte
dramaturgy Maarten van Hinte
lighting design Ingeborg Slaats
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production Sterre Nacca, Charlissa Feller
marketing and publicity Emily Perez
campaign images Tamira Koeiman
scene photos Elzo Bonam
made possible by Fonds Podiumkunsten, Stedelijk Museum, Lira Fonds, Cultuurfonds.
About Lieve Stad, 750
This performance is part of Lieve Stad, 750, a joint theater festival of Internationaal Theater Amsterdam and Meervaart. In honor of 750 years of Amsterdam, we are celebrating an extra-large edition in May with more than 50 performances in 13 theaters throughout the city. The festival brings everything together: the artists, the stages, the stories and the audience. We honor the city's rich traditions, but also give space to new voices and perspectives. Together we make Amsterdam - and we celebrate it.
Celebrate art. Celebrate the city. Celebrate together.
Lieve Stad, 750 is made possible by
