Theatre and performance have always been a gathering space throughout many different cultures and times. This is because historically, theatre has worked as a force that connects people: whether for sharing knowledge between community members, rehearsing future life events or introducing others to a new idea. In this view, performances can be understood not just as…

In line with the examples cited by Liesbeth Groot Nibbelink and Sigrid Merx during the discussion of their new book, “From As If to What If: Simulation and Speculation in Contemporary Dramaturgy”, I was reminded of Phobiarama by Dries Verhoeven. This performance does not simply present itself as something other than theatre. The performative installation…

by Jilke van der Kolk Structure and Format of the Seminar This seminar consisted primarily of a lecture-style presentation by Liesbeth Groot Nibbelink and Sigrid Merx, followed by an extended question-and-answer session with participants. The presentation offered a preview of their forthcoming book Simulation, Speculation and Futurity in Contemporary Dramaturgy: From ‘As If’ to ‘What…

In this Meet the Makers conversation, we will engage in conversation with multi-media artist, astrologer and dramaturg Samah Hijawi. Hijawi has been involved as a dramaturg in the creation process of Khadija El Kharraz Alami’s SHRINE, an immersive performance about grief, rage, and radical resistance, presented at Spring Festival 2026. We will talk about the…

What struck me most in the seminar by Liesbeth Groot Nibbelink and Sigrid Merx was not simply the theatricality of Unified Estonia, but the unsettling precision with which it staged the conditions that make political reality believable. Rather than parodying politics from a distance, the project operated as if it were a real political party—complete…

Guided by the question “What can neurodiversity do?”, the collective shy*play (Aion Arribas and antje nestel) will story their art and pedagogical practice of Doing Neurodiversity. Aion and antje will tell one of the many stories that make up the ever-evolving world of shy*play, foregrounding its urgency, emergence, desires, and techniques of improvisation. These techniques

“If particular comedians are recognized as truth-tellers, does that imply that comedic speech may also lack truth?” (Zijp 2026). This central question, posed by Dr Dick Zijp in the seminar “Navigating Entanglements in Stand-Up Comedy: Humour, Truth-telling, and Situated Knowledges,” identifies a key tension shaping contemporary stand-up comedy: the collision of different “truth-regimes.” Drawing on…

In his seminar “Humour, Truth-telling, and Situated Knowledges”, Dick Zijp reflected on the truth-telling role of comedians. Zijp first introduced the Foucauldian concept parrhesia, with which comedy practice is associated, meaning “fearless and courageous speech” (Zijp 2026). When applied to contemporary stand-up comedy, it suggests that comedians are parrhesiastes who speak truths via their “liberal…

In this Meet the Makers event, Eloise Pasmore O’Pray will present the story of how a unique research collection formed and travelled from Britain to the Netherlands. We will learn about the obstacles that arise when trying to catalogue and make accessible a research collection and AI’s role in finding solutions. Physical objects, specifically those

On May 27, the UU Special Interest Group “AI in Cultural Inquiry and Art” presents a conversation with the Holistic Technology Salon (HTS). HTS is an artists’ collective led by Annika Kappner, Ginevra Petrozzi and Sieta van Horck, and has been co-produced by V2_ Lab for the Unstable Media. Through incorporating different types of knowledge with artistic practice, from corporeal and