Yara's wedding
Yara's Wedding is an interdisciplinary (almost) musical directed by Guy Weizman, with lyrics by Antigone Akgün, Rik van den Bos, Rasit Elibol and Mohamedou Ould Slahi Houbeini. Together, this group of writers - inspired by Edward Said and his famous book 'Orientalism' - wrote a new stage text about the frame of the other based on origin, color, orientation, social unique status and cultural conflicts. Confrontation is not being avoided in this moving performance which includes 12 actors, dancers, singers and musicians from different backgrounds and nationalities.
Festival Nederlands Theater Festival
Run time 110 Minutes
Genre Theatre
Language Dutch, German and Arabic with Dutch and English surtitles
All proceeds from the performance on Saturday, 16 September, will be donated to the Red Cross' national fundraising campaign in aid of the victims of the earthquake in Morocco. Read more here.
SPOILER ALERT
Yara, Greta, Sebastian and Tony are childhood friends. They grew up in the same neighborhood and spent long summers together. They were inseparable until that night. The night the mansion burned down. That night, it is revealed overnight that each member of the group of friends is on the other side of a huge chasm, and the illusion of who they thought they were together bursts like a bubble.
12 years later, Yara marries Sebastian. The (old) friends and family go on a trip. Far removed from their familiar surroundings, new bonds are forged and old conflicts come to light. In the carousel of confrontations, encounters and situations at the wedding, everyone slowly becomes so confused and unclear that no one will go to bed until all that needs to be said or done has been said or done.
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To capture the relationship between 'East' and 'West' in music too, musicians from Asko|Schönberg and Slagwerk Den Haag work intensively with Loradeniz and singer Karima El Fillali, who performs the role of Yara. No confrontation is avoided in this very musical and lively performance with 15 actors, dancers, singers and musicians from different backgrounds and nationalities.
The jury report
'An exuberant, overflowing international spectacle of song, dance and lyrical theatre, Yara's Wedding goes the extra mile to create an irresistible musical and hypnotic world in which five friends grow up post 9/11 and find and lose each other in the big questions of their time.'
Reviews
Volkskrant
The surrender of the (multilingual) performers to Weizman's energetic direction nevertheless makes this blue-soaked spectacle a pondering exercise: how coloured is everyone's outlook and perspective?
NRC
'Yara's Wedding' is one of those performances where you walk out with your ears tingling, your heart full and a spring in your step.
Credits
concept Guy Weizman
cast Karima El Fillali, Anja Herden, Sanne den Hartogh, Sarah Janneh, Nicolas Matthews, Bien de Moor, Igor Podsiadly, Katherina Sattler, Jésula Toussaint Visser
live music Jochem Braat, Karima El Fillali, Oriol Marès, Niels Meliefste
director Guy Weizman in collaboration with the cast
writers room Antigone Akgün, Rasit Elibol, Mohammedou Ould Slahi Houbeini, Rik van den Bos
choreography Roni Haver
composition Loradeniz, Karima El Fillali
dramaturgy & plot Friederike Schubert
decor Ascon de Nijs
costumes MAISON the FAUX
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lighting design Maarten van Rossem
sound design Peter Zwart
musical dramaturgy David Dramm, Fedor Teunisse
translation Friederike Schubert, Mohamedou Ould Slahi Houbeini, Ludy Golstein, Aska Hayakawa
with live music by Asko|Schönberg en Slagwerk den Haag
Yara’s Wedding is a co-production by NITE en Schauspiel Hannover
NITE Noord Nederlands Toneel + Club Guy & Roni + Asko|Schönberg + Slagwerk Den Haag
Nederlands Theater Festival
For 11 days - from 7 to 17 September 2023 - the Nederlands Theater Festival will present this season's finest performances. The festival also showcases successful new developments in theatre, is at the forefront of the conversation about the role of theatre in society and blurs boundaries between different art disciplines. Traditionally, the festival opens with the Staat van het Theater and closes with the Gala van het Nederlands Theater, where the most important theatre awards are presented.
The Nederlands Theater Festival is there to celebrate theatre and audiences.