Keizer zonder kleren

De Spelersfederatie

Following on from the hit series Bridgerton and the costume comedy The Favourite, Keizer zonder Kleren is a sharply comic and satirical costume drama that does not care about historical facts. Keizer zonder Kleren is an adult version of the fairy tale about the emperor without clothes and in the spirit of Molière. 2023 sees the 350-year anniversary of his death.

Run time tba
Genre theater
Language Dutch

Premiere Sun 19 February

Keizer zonder kleren

There is a castle in an unknown place far, far, nearby, where they live according to the oldest traditions and customs. If you ask why something is done the way it is, the answer is invariably: “because we've been doing it that way for years”. The traditions get a little more intense and radical every year, but nobody dares to say anything about it. Then a strange young company arrives at the castle. They come from a completely different place, where everything is different, life is more modern. They represent the voice of the future calling out, “But Emperor, you are NAKED!"

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Molière drew heavily on the Comédia Dell'arte and presented his audience with archetypes that portrayed the follies of the human race. Expect extravagant dresses, wigs, falls, hypocrisy and lies.

It is a time of upheaval, of sharp contradictions and a resistance of an old order against new insights and a new generation. In the performance Keizer zonder Kleren, we show the working of the stick in the wheel, the small event that eventually leads to the ruling power, which is entrenched in its own idea of what is “right”, tumbling from its throne, due to an apparently innocent question from outside.

About the company/the maker

The Players' Federation is a new ensemble for the large hall of autonomous actors, writers and makers without a permanent director. The actors’ crew is central. That is not only an artistic choice, it is also an ideal. The Players' Federation reverses the power structures. We debunk the myth of the “genius individual” and celebrate “the genius of collaboration”. We present new repertoire by Dutch-speaking playwrights and radical adaptations of existing plays. Comedy is the starting point. We are an ensemble of laughter – not the frivolous laugh, but the laugh that you have to take seriously. We want to create boundless drama, for all layers of society, averse to any division between classical and modern theatre, between popular entertainment and intellectualism, between folly and seriousness.

Think of us as a group of modern jesters. The jester is an ambiguous character: on the one hand an entertainer by profession, but on the other his life philosophy is to demystify, tell the truth and sow doubt where dogmatic ideas predominate. He is disarming, but not harmless. The court cannot do without the jester, a theatre cannot do without an ensemble of comedians.

CREDITS

by and with Patrick Duijtshoff, Kyrian Esser, Elisabeth ten Have, Timo Huijzendveld, Bartel Jespers en Nicoline Raatgever
director Amira Duynhouwer
text Jamal Ouariachi i.s.m. de Spelersfederatie
dramaturgy Céline Buren, Charley Yntema (stage)
costume Timo Huijzendveld, Elian Smits & Jacob Kok
music Bart Sietsema
educatie Merijn van Beusekom
technical Iris Rodenburg en Asun Gaaikema-|-
design Luc Brinkhoff / Firma Traktor
photo Barbara Raatgever
publicity Laura van Wingerden / Via Rudolphi
advice Rosa Asbreuk
collaborative partner Internationaal Theater Amsterdam

with thanks to Theaterwerkplaats Haarlem, Studenten Toneelvereniging Amsterdam (STA!), Harmonie de Oude Post, Inter Amicos, de Wilde Wereld, Lens Theatermakers, Talententheater Hoorn, Artiance Alkmaar, Theater Utrecht, toneelgroep Tot Ieders Genoegen, Doppio Eindhoven en PACT Amsterdam. En alle andere figuranten die hebben deelgenomen aan een repetitie dan wel uitvoering van Keizer zonder Kleren.

this project was made possible with a contribution from Fonds Podiumkunsten, Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst, Fonds21, Cultuurfonds, Dioraphte, VSB Fonds