“From As If to What If: Simulation and Speculation in Contemporary Dramaturgy” – Liesbeth Groot Nibbelink (Utrecht University) and Sigrid Merx (Utrecht University)

Dries Verhoeven, Sic Transit Gloria Mundi (2018). Photographer: Willem Popelier. Source: https://driesverhoeven.com/en/project/sic-transit-gloria-mundi/

In this session, Liesbeth Groot Nibbelink (UU) and Sigrid Merx (UU) will discuss their book project Simulation, Speculation and Futurity in Contemporary Dramaturgy: From ‘As If’ to ‘What If’ in European Performance Practice (forthcoming). The project originated from the observation of a growing interest in fictionality, simulation, and speculation in contemporary European theatre and performance. An increasing number of theatre events and performative installations mobilize the imaginary to engage with the world at large. In doing so, they depart quite radically from the emphasis on “the real” that characterized postdramatic theatre and performance art in previous decades. At the same time, they challenge the historically close association between fiction and the “not real.” Remarkably, these fictional worlds are often not staged within conventional theatre venues. Instead, they emerge in other contexts, taking on the appearance of spaces such as concept stores, courts of justice, online dating platforms, or historical museums. Using their book project as a companion, Liesbeth and Sigrid invite the audience to join them in exploring a series of interconnected entanglements. They will reflect on as if and what if thinking as twin inclinations of theatre; on the intimate relationship between fiction and reality in contemporary dramaturgy; on the practice of navigating concepts across disciplines; and on the process of writing this book together.

Dr. Liesbeth Groot Nibbelink is an Assistant Professor in Theatre and Performance Studies at the Media and Culture Studies Department of Utrecht University. She teaches in the Master’s programme in Contemporary Theatre, Dance and Dramaturgy and the BA Media and Culture Studies programmes of the department. Her research interests include dramaturgy and scenography, spatial theory, performance ecologies and new materialism, and performance philosophy. She is the author of Nomadic Theatre: Mobilizing Theory and Practice on the European Stage (Bloomsbury 2019) and has contributed to (among others) Contemporary Theatre Review, Performance Research and to the volumes Thinking Through Theatre and Performance (Bloomsbury 2019), Staging Spectators in Immersive Performances (Routledge 2019), Intermedial Performance and Politics in the Public Sphere (Routledge 2018) and Mapping Intermediality in Theatre and Performance (Amsterdam University Press 2010). In 2013, she co-founded Platform-Scenography, an open source platform for scenographers and dramaturgs that seeks to stimulate reflection on scenography. She is also active as a dramaturg and artistic adviser.

Dr. Sigrid Merx is Associate Professor of Theatre and Performance Studies at the Department of Media and Culture Studies and a Senior Fellow at the Utrecht Centre for Academic Teaching and Learning. Trained as a theatre scholar and with a practical background as a writer and dramaturg in participatory art projects, she brings concepts and approaches from theatre and dramaturgy into contexts beyond the stage. This is reflected in her interest in the value of performative and creative methods within academic education and research, as well as in her exploration of performances in, and the performativity of, urban public space. Recurring themes in her work include the role of performance and art in negotiating frictions and differences, whether in education or in society at large. Sigrid is co-lead of the UU research platform [urban interfaces] that investigates how situated media, art and performance can serve as productive sites for engaging with contemporary tensions, concerns, and debates in and about urban public spaces. She is a core member of the Creative Humanities Academy, a platform for collaboration and knowledge exchange between professionals and makers in the cultural and creative sector and humanities researchers, and the co-lead of the UU Special Interest Group for Creative Research Methods. In the context of the Comenius Leadership Project Fostering an Open Mind and Open Attitude (2023–2026), she has co-developed creative tools to foster dialogue in higher education at a time of growing polarization both inside and outside the classroom. For her Senior Fellow project (2025–2029), she explores the relationship between creativity and collaboration, focusing on the development of creative and arts-based methods that enhance collaborative and interdisciplinary learning.

This session is part of the Transmission in Motion seminar (2025-2026): “Navigating Entanglements.”
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