NACHTWACHT
Following an overwhelming response, numerous nominations, and sold-out performances, Nachtwacht retuns to the stage. What began as a radical theatrical experience evolved into a production that left both audiences and creators spellbound. In 2027, Nachtwacht will venture out into the night once again.
Run time 210 minutes, incl. intermission
Genre Musical theatre
Language Dutch
Surtitles English
Nachtwacht
Nachtwacht is more than just a show. It is a three-and-a-half-hour interdisciplinary farewell rave: theater, dance, and live music merge into a raw, physical experience that pulls you into a family on the brink. An evening about growing older, mortality, and the desperate attempt to break free from the roles imposed upon us.
The evening slips into the night. A heartbeat weakens, falters, and then swells into an unstoppable beat. Music draws the audience into a ritualistic movement toward the unknown. What is old fades away. What follows is an ecstatic release – a final outburst, just before the first light lays everything bare.
At the center stands “Mr.,” a man in the final months of his life. Around him: family, ghosts, memories. As he prepares for the end, his children struggle with a new era. They balance between loyalty, longing, and the need to choose for themselves who they want to be.
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With a sharp yet loving gaze, Nachtwacht weaves together humor and melancholy. The performance holds up a mirror to us and takes a critical yet empathetic look at the Dutch healthcare system – and at what we expect from one another, and what we often don’t dare to give.
The title refers to Rembrandt’s The Night Watch: gatekeepers of a past era, but also the emergence of power structures that continue to influence us to this day. At the same time, the night here is quite literal: keeping vigil at a deathbed. A place where a family, despite everything, gathers for a final ritual.
And it is precisely there—at the end of the night—that something can break open.
A moment of liberation.
A chance to choose who you are all over again.
With a cast of 27 musicians, dancers, and actors, Nachtwacht is a large-scale production about the small, personal moments that are familiar to us all.
REVIEWS
de Volkskrant
“Jack Wouterse has pulled off a real feat.”
Dagblad van het Noorden
“Guy Weizman creates an unparalleled and poignant portrayal of the process of dying.”
Leeuwarder Courant
“In Theaterhuis NITE’s Nachtwacht, the audience won’t know where to look or listen first.”
NRC
“In Nachtwacht, NITE paints a stunning tableau of human mortality.”
Theaterkrant (Keuze van de criticus)
“An administrative healthcare file becomes an overwhelming spectacle.”
Credits
director Guy Weizman
choreography Roni Haver
text Rik van den Bos, Marieke van Veen
cast Adam Peterson, Angela Herenda, Bien De Moor, Bram van der Heijden, Camilo Chapela, Igor Podsiadly, Jack Wouterse, Jésula Toussaint Visser, Nimuë Walraven, Olaf Ait Tami, Sarah Janneh
music Isa Goldschmeding, Joost Geevers, Maya Felixbrot, Niels Meliefste, Noa Eyl, Ronas Uyrum
vocals Bernet Wilms, Brecht Coppers, Femke van Essen, Lisa Defeyter, Özgür Selim Guldur, Rosalyn Stürzer, Taylor Burgess, Yao Kouakou Landry Assokoly
set design Ascon de Nijs
costume design Maison The Faux
lightning design Maarten van Rossem
composer David Dramm, Luke Deane
additional music Max Frimout
sound design Peter Zwart, Sander van der Werff
dramaturgy Friederike Schubert
musical dramaturgy David Dramm
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thanks to Catoo Post, Giordano Mor, Anaida Melivia, Clara Negrila, Team NITE, Team Club Guy & Roni, Team HIIIT, Team Het Muziek (voorheen Asko|Schönberg) Team NKK NXT, Team UMCG, Team Bab Ad-Daar, Team VRIJDAG
