BEFORE/AFTER

NITE (NNT / Guy&Roni / Slagwerk Den Haag / Asko|Schönberg)

38 average people are doing average things. They’re changing a lightbulb, looking at a painting, discovering a grey hair, recollecting a childhood memory, waiting in a hotel room, or chatting at a networking event. But in the play Vorher/Nacher, German writer Roland Schimmelpfennig moves the smallest of things within all these lives so that they will never be the same again. For years, Roland Schimmelpfennig has been one of the most performed playwrights in Germany. In the Netherlands, his works are performed less. Among others, he wrote Arabische Nacht and De Gouden Draak, which have only been performed in the Netherlands. Schimmelpfennig has an ability to integrate everyday themes and contemporary issues in a theatrical language that’s both poetic and accessible.

After big stories about our fascination for the suffering of others (Carrousel), the conflict between world religions (Salam) and the future of humanity (Brave New World 2.0), director Guy Weizman zooms in with Before/After to focus on small and everyday things. Most lives may not be epic or thrilling, but that does not make them less interesting. It’s quite possible that our deepest selves only truly reveal themselves in our everyday lives. In a visual, poetic mosaic with a large cast of dancers, singers and actors, a universe of small, recognizable stories is brought to life with overflowing emotion.

For this production, Guy Weizman will utilize a living set of at least 30 people.