This afternoon is organized at Tryater on the Oostersingel in Leeuwarden as part of phōnē, a European project of eight theater companies working in their minority language, of which we as Tryater are the penciler. An International Theatre Night or Afternoon will take place in all home towns this summer, where the companies will exchange and collaborate with each other in theater-making, and the elaboration of this will be shown to the public. The free afternoon lasts from 1 PM to about 5 PM. At the closing drinks, there will be plenty of time to chat.
A quadrilingual afternoon (Breton, Kven, Frisian and English) full of experiencing and talking about language and linguistic identity.
The participating companies are spread across countries and small languages throughout Europe. Besides Fryslân, these include Ireland (Irish), Germany (Sorbian), Romania (Yiddish), Italy (Ladin), Spain (Galisian), France (Breton) and Norway (Kven).
1-2 PM International Theatre Talkshow
2-3 PM + 3-4 PM: Sallika charges tulla minun tyköni + aftertalk
2-3 PM + 3-4 PM: Bastard + aftertalk
4-5 PM: Drinks (foyer)
Performances from Norway and France
This afternoon we will see two short performances (about 45 minutes): Let the little children come to me by the Kven National Theatre (Kven/Norway) directed by our own writer Wessel de Vries, and Bastard by Teatr Piba (Brittany/France). These are previews of performances the companies are making; in both, music and the writer’s personal story play an important role. The plays are performed in their own minority language, of course with live (Frisian) translation for the audience. We also talk with the makers afterwards.
Talkshow about theater, collaboration and language
Beforehand there will be an extensive discussion in front of and with the audience, including the makers from Norway and France and Frisian language deputy Eke Folkerts. About what it means to make theater in the minority language, what that means artistically and substantively, where challenges lie in reaching your audience and what makes one choose not to operate in the larger language in the first place. European cooperation is also discussed, in terms of policy, applications and how to find each other. The performances themselves are concluded with interesting discussions with the performers. Present are a variety of partners from the fields of language, theater and culture.
