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In this news item we take you into the stories told by one of our favourite disciplines: theatre. This year’s international performances bring new and surprising forms and content. What can you expect from Amsterdam Roots in terms of theatre?

And because we are so excited about our beautiful programme, this week we are giving away tickets for performances at the TapasTheater and CC Amstel! Want to know how you can win? Read it at the bottom of this blog.

What if your mother tongue is forbidden to speak?
Theatre maker Sipan Sezgin Tekin grew up in a Kurdish family that had to hide its culture, just like many other Kurds in Turkey. As a result, he never fully mastered the Kurdish language. Nevertheless, he feels a strong connection with his family’s language. In his performance ‘King of snake’, Sipan takes you along in the search for the relationship between language and man – what happens when you do not speak or understand a language, but can see and feel it. Watch this performance at 19.00 from 1 to 3 July in the TapasTheater.

The hidden history of the African at the Tsar’s court
Saron Tesfahuney makes theatre from an African perspective, as a much-needed counterweight to the Eurocentric historiography. She tells the story of a boy from a noble family in Central Africa, who at the age of eight is kidnapped by the Ottomans and ends up at the Russian court. In her theatre play ‘Negus of Peter the Great’, Saron reconstructs the suppressed history of his origin and fatherland. Be there in the TapasTheater between 1 and 3 July, starting at 19.00!

What if… I don’t exist? My body is neither male, nor female
In the Netherlands there are 190,000 intersex people. Born with a body that does not meet the regular definition of man or woman. They have often been kept quiet, even by themselves. This is how a growing secret nestled itself in the head of Marleen Hendrickx. How does it feel when you are not allowed to be who you are? Marleen explores this pressing question during her performance in the TapasTheater between 1 and 3 July, starting at 19.00.

Not a sweet story about equality, but about being allowed to be yourself
Dingo’s Stable is an internationally operating company around Turkish-Dutch creator Ilgin Abeln. Through playful site-specific theatre, they take a close look at subjects such as nationalism and migration, using absurd and recognisable situations. The performance ‘As if you are at home’ tells the migration story of Turks to the Netherlands and is performed free of charge on (market) squares in Southeast, North, East and West.

Immersive experience of music and stories from the African diaspora of Curacao
In Voices from Letters, the past of the rich musical tradition of Curaçao comes to life. A zeitgeist that transcends the island forms the basis of the performance ‘Imershon’, to be seen on 29 June in the CC Amstel. Chatlein and his band mix Afro-Curaçao sound fragments with music, stories and improvisations and thus bring “an ode to our ancestors, our language and all its magic”.

Circus Stage
On Sunday 3 July during the Open Air festivals, various disciplines come together in a diverse, qualitative programme in which you can enjoy circus acts, acrobatics, street theatre and contemporary dance. You can see the ‘free-running’ show of Saïd Mouhssine, the explosive tricks and creative dexterity on hip-hop beats of Simple Cypher, the acrobatic performance of Cal & Sam and many more surprising acts!

Contest
Birthday treats! Share with us your best memory of Amsterdam Roots Festival and you could win a free ticket for 2 performances in Tapastheater on 2 July or the performance Voices from Letters in CCAmstel on 29 June. Mail your memory before June 28th to info@amsterdamroots.nl.

Amili @ Amsterdam Roots Festival 2019

Amsterdam Roots Festival & the Amarte Fund are looking for artists who want to play at the first edition of Roots in Zuidoost!

Deadline for registration: 30 May 2022 

Are you a musician and would you like to perform at the first edition of Roots in Zuidoost? Then this is your chance. For this programme of the Amarte Fund and Amsterdam Roots Festival we are looking for new sounds from Amsterdam and surroundings. Artists with a clear link to Southeast have an extra chance!

Roots in Zuidoost takes place on 30 June 2022 at four indoor locations and an outdoor stage. Performances will be held at Oscam, Local Wave, Hiphop Foundation, New Metropolis, Poortstage and an outdoor stage at Hoekenrode square (next to metro stop Bijlmer Arena) throughout the evening. Besides concerts, the programme also includes live Q&As with the artists.

Upload your proposal before 30 May via this form. 

The results of the selection will be known on 15 June. What can you expect?

– A fee of €270 per artist

– A performance on one of the stages

– Production support for the performance

Read more here about Amsterdam Roots Festival and Amarte Fonds

What happens if we do show and embrace that vulnerability? In ourselves, but also in others? This question requires a great deal of courage, because how do you allow yourself to be vulnerable? And how do you make room for other people’s vulnerability? Is it for instance necessary to make our communities and meeting places safer?

Amsterdam Roots Zine (limited edition 2021) costs €7,50 and is available at the Amsterdam Roots locations and at Athenaeum bookshops. It can also be ordered online for €10 including packing and shipping. If you donate €20 or more to Amsterdam Roots, you will receive the Zine for free.

‘vulnerability’ approached from different perspectives and art forms

Over five days, at various locations throughout the city, Amsterdam Roots Festival presents a multidisciplinary and hybrid context program of film, art, poetry, conversations, and performances by young creators and thinkers. Together with partners Poetry Circle, Framer Framed, We Sell Reality, Aralez, Sites of Memory, and Tapas Theater, Amsterdam Roots Festival explores a broad palette of visions, creations, and experiences.

This year’s program is centered around vulnerability, a phenomenon represented by soap bubbles in the festival image. Vulnerability seems to be in sharp contrast with the hardening, conflict and dangers of this period; as human beings we like to do our best to hide our vulnerability. We do this to each other, but also on a social level. Rather, we create the illusion of strength and unbreakability. When the law of the strongest applies, showing real vulnerability can feel embarrassing, and even unsafe. Because how can we be vulnerable together? And how can we make our communities and meeting places safe(r) to be vulnerable? And what role does vulnerability play in creativity? At Amsterdam Roots 2021, we want to use vulnerability as a breeding ground for curiosity and explore these questions from different perspectives. Keep an eye on the website for announcements about the context program.

João Selva grew up in Rio de Janeiro and then traveled all over the world with his music. Since then he has returned to the samba meets soul-jazz vibes of his youth. It’s a response to the dire political situation in his homeland, and in many other places around the world; João wants to sound hopeful through a mix of funk, soul, jazz, and everything Brazil has to offer. Catch him on Friday, July 2 at 19:30 and 22:00 in the Bimhuis.

Tickets are on sale now via the Bimhuis website.

> Early show tickets
> Late show tickets

Fighting together for social justice!

While the corona pandemic and the benefits scandal exposed social inequality, many social justice movements also gained greater support. On the one hand, populist, far-right politicians are gaining ground, but on the other hand, fortunately, there is also more alliance among advocates of a socially, culturally and climate just world.

On Sunday 3 July, at the Solar Stage in the Oosterpark, we will talk to a number of organisations that fight for social justice. We will talk to Jelle Zijlstra of Oy Vey Acts and Jerry Afriyie, founder of the National Day of Empathy, among others, about how this support was created and how we can keep it.

Speakers:
Jelle Zijlstra (he/him) is an activist and community organiser working for Greenpeace Netherlands. Jelle is trained as a theatre director and has worked on numerous community theatre projects. He is also one of the co-founders of Oy Vey Acts.

Jerry Afriyie (hij/hem) Jerry Afriyie is a poet, opinion maker and human rights activist, who mainly campaigns against racism and discrimination. He is co-founder of, among others, Stichting Nederland Wordt Beter and the action group Kick Out Zwarte Piet. Jerry is also co-initiator of the National Day of Empathy on 3 May.