What’s on
Sint Jansstraat 37
1012HG Amsterdam
www.astarotheatro.com
www.ourfootsteps.nl
AstaroTheatro on Facebook
info@ourfootsteps.nl
Tel. 06 25382491
The Want
An Evening of Theatre and Talks
Saturday 14 October, 20;30
AstaroTheatro
Sint Jansstraat 37 Amsterdam
Entrance by Donation. Cash Only
We perform a short excerpt from ‘In the solitude of the cotton fields’ by Bernard-Marie Koltès where our dramaturgical analysis underlines the consumerism and the commodification in society.
We sit together and we engage in an open conversation about the topics highlighted by the theatre performance: from commodification to war from environmental disaster to autonomous communities, from the manipulation of love to anything we would like to discuss.
Because The Dealer is always there to remind you that ‘you must want something’. So be aware that you are nothing but a consumer in a consumers’ world. Unless you don’t want The Want.
Harun Turan: Bilur
Roberto Bacchilega: Performance
An AstaroTheatro and A La Muntagna Production
Foreign Sound
Saturday 23 September, 20:30
AstaroTheatro
Sint Jansstraat 37 Amsterdam
Entrance by Donation
Foreign Sound – A Harmonious Celebration of Music and Culture
“Foreign Sound” by Fernando Oliveira is more than just a concert; it’s a powerful testament to the harmonious blend of nations, cultures, and traditions. This captivating performance is dedicated to celebrating Brazil’s iconic music styles, including Bossa Nova, Samba, and international reinterpretations, showcasing the universal power of musical expression.
At its heart, “Foreign Sound” finds its rhythm deeply rooted in Samba, enriched with the sophistication of Jazz influences, creating a mesmerizing and layered experience for the audience. Bossa Nova, popularized by the legendary João Gilberto in the late 1950s, takes center stage, captivating hearts worldwide with its melodic charm.
Fernando Oliveira, the driving force behind this project, presents his original compositions that celebrate the essence of Brazilian music. From Bossa Nova to Samba and Brazilian Popular Music (MPB), the performance is enriched by rhythmic drums and dance-infused beats. The infusion of soul, jazz, and pop adds a contemporary flair to the traditional, resulting in a unique and modern musical journey.
“Foreign Sound” invites you to step into a world that transcends boundaries, celebrating the universal language of music. It’s a triumph both musically and politically, showcasing the harmonious exchange of cultures and traditions.
Join us for this theatrical experience, where music becomes a bridge between nations and a testament to the enduring power of artistry and expression.
Guitar & Voice Fernando Oliveira
Bass Raalf Martinez
Drums Felipe Duarte
Saturday 24 June,20:00
AstaroTheatro
Rebetiko Against The machine at AstaroTheatro
A fantastic way to close our unique cultural season!
Rebetiko Against The Machine: “Join us for the last gig of the season!!!On Saturday 24/6 we are gonna be in AstaroTheatro!This time with originals and maybe some rebetiko tunes if time is enough!
We will be happy to see you there”
Entrance with donation!
Bouzouki/Baglama: Argiris Plekas
Bouzouki/Vocals: Giannis Leloudas
Think of Others at De Voorkamer Utrecht
Think of Others is Wednesday 21 June, 19;30 at De Voorkamer Kanaalstraat 225 Utrecht during Arabic Coffee Evening with Poetry Performance “Think of Others”
Think of Others
A poetry performance and an artistic work in progress of theatre, music and a road to alterity eventually to be found in an abandoned theatre.
Inspired by Mahmoud Darwish, Amal Donkol and by our vagabond souls.
Argyris Plekas. Bouzouki
Betina Abi Habib. Performance
Bakr Al Jaber. Performance
Roberto Bacchilega-AstaroTheatro. Performance
Friday 16 June
Dinner 19:00
Theatre 20:00
Music 21:00
Lola Luid
Derkinderenstraat 44 Amsterdam
Entrance by Donation
Blending Desires at Lola Luid
An event of theatre, music and togetherness for the neighborhood///
Delicious dinner + Theatre storytelling about our kitchen + Live music by Argyris Plekas
Blending Desires
“Desires of love and deep affection
Longing for a real connection”
A Theatre Performance on memories straight from our kitchens. Coffee cups, potato peelers and a parody of food as a rigid dogma.
A storytelling and a metaphor of longing for love and deep affection, of being abandoned in the hope to be found again and finally, of the desire of otherness in a faraway land.
This performance originates from the participants to the workshop “Theatre as Communal Experience” at AstaroTheatro
With: Cristina, Giusy, Mehdi, Oscar, Roberto, Sava
Argyris Plekas Live Music
“I will present you some compositions of mine. The music that i made the past year, is pretty much biographical by my own life. The music is very influenced by the Greek rebetiko genre. I will play them accompanied by my favourite instrument bouzouki. Atmospheres from rebetiko scales and rhythms will dominate the air!”
Friday 2 June, 20:00
Ru Paré
Chris Lebeaustraat 4 Amsterdam
A La Muntagna – Up To The Mountain
How artists come together inspired by resistance and international solidarity
An event of music, theatre and togetherness
Same spirit and even more meaningful arts!
Once upon a time there was a song connecting the mountains of Southern Italy to the peaks of Kurdistan by providing a common ground of resistance and solidarity.
Today this profound nexus of true international solidarity is still the main motivation for artists to come together.
Now A La Muntagna calls to be performed again, for the third time. Same spirit and even more meaningful arts! We wish to share tales of reaching out to otherness and poems of travelers moving through theatrical roads. And music of course. Lots of music of love, friendship, dignity and resistance against any oppression.
Ru Paré is no doubt the place to be. Our A La Muntagna journey started in this warm and inclusive venue and now naturally it continues there.
A La Muntagna is again all yours!
Program:
Harun plays tunes and songs on the bilur (wind instrument)
Think of Others
A poetry performance and an artistic work in progress of theatre, music and a road to alterity eventually to be found in an abandoned theatre.
Inspired by Mahmoud Darwish, Amal Donkol and by our vagabond souls.
Argyris Plekas. Bouzouki
Betina Abi Habib. Performance
Bakr Al Jaber. Performance
Roberto Bacchilega-AstaroTheatro. Performance
Baschira & Roleda
Songs from Italy to Kurdistan. And vice versa
Baschira. Guitar
Roleda. Saz
Savalan Ghodsi. Percussions
Sipan Sezgin Tekin. Erbane Player
A la Muntagna.
Delicious Food and Healthy drinks are ready for you!
Entrance by Donation. Please bring cash!
Theatre as Communal Experience
A Workshop
Our lives are communal; we need to be social to survive.
AstaroTheatro has a long history of community creation.
Theatre becomes an empowering act of artistic and human blossoming in the direction of communal experience and collaborative sharing.
Hence this workshop where participants engage in the process of authorship through multiple discussions, self-representation, improvisations, learning to feel the others and the space. Egos are tamed, the collective creates.
There is no separation or hierarchy among body, mind and spoken word.
We communicate simultaneously with all our faculties – a lesson easily learned, but in practice a never-ending journey of rise and fall. All this makes for inspiring moments during our workshop. We learn to work with our body, our breath, our voice in a non-judgemental way. We explore the space and we interact with the other performers. New exercises are welcome and constantly proposed. We are in the process of learning that physical exercises, improvisations and experiments allow the body to introduce new ideas. The body does the thinking, in a way. We seek a deeper interaction by ‘feeling’ the other performers while at the same time being a total actor.
Who I am is because of you.
Anyone can do theater, even actors. And theater can be done everywhere. Even in a theater
Augusto Boal
This theatre workshop explores the basics of the performative practice: posture, movement, presence, body, the other in the space, games and the voice in many of its expressions.
Our voices engage in spoken word, text and poetry in order to reach the poetry performance: from poetry to theatre.
Our work will be inspired by theatre masters like Jerzy Grotowski, Jurij Alschitz, Augusto Boal and AstaroTheatro’s own experience. But above all our practice will originate from ourselves: our memories, stories and skills. Theatre becomes the discovery that each of us is able to tell and to tell about ourselves.
How to create while one is controlled by others, how to create without the security of creation, how to find a security which is inevitable if we want to express ourselves
Jerzy Grotowski
Five sessions open to everyone from the unexperienced person to the more experienced theatre practitioner.
5 sessions: 23, 30 April; 7, 14, 21 May 14:30-17:00.
Please contact us for more information:
AstaroTheatro Sint Janssstraat 37 Amsterdam
info@ourfootsteps.nl
Tel 06 25382491
A Foreign Sound at AstaroTheatro
Saturday 29 April, 20:30
AstaroTheatro
Sint Jansstraat 37 Amsterdam
Entrance by Donation. Cash Only Please
Fernando Oliveira “Foreign Sound”
The style of “Foreign Sound” is devoted solely to one of the best-known Brazilian music styles- Bossa Nova, samba, and reinterpretations of international music in Bossa Nova style. The performance has at it’s core a rhythm based on samba also influenced by jazz music. Fernando Oliveira (vocals & guitar) and Felipe Duarte (percussion).
Fernando Oliveira
Fernando Oliveira (BR 1983) is a Brazilian musician, dancer and performer based in Amsterdam. Fernando graduated in Performing Arts from INDAC – Art and Science Institute, & NAC – Nucleus of Performing Arts (São Paulo, 2013). In the Netherlands he has participated as a musician in various exhibitions and concerts. As a dancer in experimental film such as the film Sunset as a finalist for the European Cinematography AWARDS -ECA. Fernando has played with many musicians in Europe. And also he danced and performed for companies such as Nina Wijnmaalen Company (Groningen), Sanne clifford& co | choreography (Amsterdam), Corneliu Ganea Choreography (Amsterdam, NL), J. Garcia Company of Contemporary Dance (São Paulo), GRUA – Street Gentlemen (São Paulo), NAC Núcleo de Artes Scenic (São Paulo), and more. In 2016, Fernando founded the ANT – Physical Theater Company, project-based in Amsterdam/NL.
Felipe Duarte
Felipe Duarte is a Brazilian drummer and percussionist, with a specialty in the pandeiro. He started playing music at the age of 16 and studied at renowned schools such as the Ricardo Breim Institute, and with professors such as Fabiano Manhas, Túlio Araújo. He was one of the members of the Brazilian folk band Lestics, and is currently part of the sunshine pop band Fun of the Real People. He lives in Amsterdam and dedicates his time to the study of Brazilian rhythms and jazz.
Rebetiko Against The Machine at AstaroTheatro
Friday 14 April, 20:30
AstaroTheatro
Sint Jansstraat 37 Amsterdam
Entrance by Donation. Cash Only Please
On Friday 14 April we are going to be in AstaroTheatro.
We are happy to perform in this unique atmosphere! This time with the two of us! We are going to play some sets of our own material and some of our favourite Rebetiko tunes!
• Donation Based Entrance
•• Music starts at 20:30!
We are :
-Ilias Konstantinidis – Guitar-Vocals
-Giannis Leloudas – Bouzouki – Vocals
We will be happy to see you there!!!
Friday 7 April, 20:30
Saturday 8 April, 20:30
Blending Desires
“Desires of love and deep affection
Longing for a real connection”
A Theatre Performance on memories straight from our kitchens. Coffee cups, potato peelers and a parody of food as a rigid dogma.
A storytelling and a metaphor of longing for love and deep affection, of being abandoned in the hope to be found again and finally, of the desire of otherness in a faraway land.
This performance originates from the participants to the workshop “Theatre as Communal Experience”. As part of their practice, they engaged in a process of authorship and in the creative process of Blending Desires that we are now pleased to share with you.
“Hence dear audience, please be ready
and above all very steady
for these stories and many others
for the delight of your sisters and your brothers”
With:
Cristina
Giusy
Mehdi
Oscar
Roberto
Sava
AstaroTheatro Sint Jansstraat 37 Amsterdam
Entrance by Donation
Friday 24 March 17:00: Exhibition Opening
Saturday 24 March, 13:00-18:00: Exhibition
Art Exhibition Sava – Mehdi
We are excited to announce our upcoming exhibition that is very close to our hearts. Our small but mighty exhibition will be showcasing the powerful stories of women who have fought for their rights throughout history.
We are honored to have our artworks inspired by the famous activists, who have made tremendous strides towards human rights. Through their inspiring stories, we hope to shed light on the oppression faced by women under patriarchy, religion, racism and apartheid…
As a small team of passionate individuals, we believe in the importance of bringing attention to these issues and inspiring positive changes. We invite you to join us in celebrating the women who have paved the way for progress and to reflect on how we can continue their legacy today.
We can’t wait to share this meaningful exhibition with you and hear your thoughts on the pieces. Let’s come together to show support for women who are still fighting for their rights. See you at the exhibition!
Sava – Mehdi
Exhibition Opening: Friday 24 March, 17:00
With special Music and Theatre Impro Act by Sava, Mehdi, Roberto
Exhibition: Saturday 25 March, 13:00 – 18:00
AstaroTheatro
Sint Jansstraat 37 Amsterdam
Friday 10 March, 20:00
Ru Paré
Chris Lebeausstraat 4 Amsterdam
A La Muntagna – Up To The Mountain
𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙮. 𝘼𝙣 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙘, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨.
It all began with a song connecting the mountains of Southern Italy to the peaks of Kurdistan by providing a common ground of resistance and solidarity.
Today this profound nexus of true international solidarity is still the main motivation for artists to come together.
Now we wish to share tales of reaching out to otherness and poems of travelers moving through theatrical routes. And music of course. Lots of music of love, friendship, dignity and resistance against any oppression.
Ru Paré is no doubt the place to be. Our A La Muntagna journey started in this warm and inclusive venue and now naturally it continues there with this upcoming event.
A La Muntagna is all yours again!
𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺:
𝘼𝙧𝙞𝙭
A song of a daughter to a mother after the earthquake
Harun Turan: Performance
𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙊𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨
A Poetry Performance on a prettier road that leads to me, to you and to an abandoned theatre. Inspired by Mahmoud Darwish
Roberto Bacchilega-AstaroTheatro. Performance
Bakr Al Jaber. Performance
Argyris Plekas. Bouzouki
𝘽𝙖𝙨𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙧𝙖 & 𝙍𝙤𝙡𝙚𝙙𝙖
Songs from Italy to Kurdistan. And vice versa
Baschira. Guitar
Roleda. Saz
Savalan Ghodsi. Percussions
A la Muntagna donations are for earthquake victims in Kurdistan, Turkey and Syria.
Friday 24 February, 20:30
AstaroTheatro
Sint Jansstraat 37 Amsterdam
Entrance by Donation
Rembetiko Against the Machine at AstaroTheatro
Dear friends,On Friday the 24th we are gonna perform some our favourite Rebetiko tunes from the early days (1930-1950) and also some of our own compositions!!
Such a pleasure to be again in Amsterdam and in AstaroTheatro with its own unique atmosphere!!!–>The event will have a donation based entrance!
Music will start at 20:30!
Hope to see you there!-Guitars/Vocals: Ilias Konstantinidis
-Bouzouki/Baglama/Vocals: Argiris Papadimitriou
-Bouzouki/Vocals : Yiannis Leloudas
Friday 17 February, 20:30
AstaroTheatro
Sint Jansstraat 37 Amsterdam
Entrance by Donation
A Foreign sound
A Foreign sound is the performance by Fernando Oliveira.
It will be a special performance devoted solely to one of the best-known Brazilian music styles – Bossa Nova, samba, and reinterpretations of international music in Bossa Nova style.
The performance has at it’s core a rhythm based on samba also influenced by jazz music.
A style of Brazilian music popularized by João Gilberto. Who was a pioneer of the musical genre of bossa nova in the late 1950s. Around the world, he was often called “father of bossa nova”.
On one level, A Foreign Sound is an act of cultural appropriation of Brazilian music. In addition reinterpretations of international music in Bossa Nova style. As Cole Porter, Ira Gershwin, Bruno Martino, and Billie Holiday. Oliveira covers songs by artists who have borrowed from Brazilian traditions too. Even on songs that have no musical ties to Brazil, Oliveira exerts his elegant phrasing and supple voice to make them sound new.
Despite the fact that the artist has already been living in Holland for 8 years, A Foreign Sound’s performance is more as a musical statement than as a political one. Oliveira aims to reinterpret these songs, to make them sound new and interesting for foreign ears.
The show “A foreign sound” demonstrates how nations can meld the best of their cultures and traditions in a mutual give-and-take, a feat which makes the performance a triumph both musically and politically.
Voice and guitar: Fernando Oliveira
Double Bass: Lorenzo Buffa
Percursion: Felipe Duarte
Friday 27 January, 20:30
AstaroTheatro
Sint Jansstraat 37 Amsterdam
info@ourfootsteps.nl
Entrance by Donation
ANARQUITETURAS DO SABER
PABLO ALVEZ ARTINPROCESS
ANARQUITETURAS DO SABER is a creation in experimental performance art by the Portuguese-British artist Pablo Alvez Artinprocess. It explores what is a deconstruction of the spectacle, a quasi-anarchy…. an an-architecture. It is performance art seeking what is behind the show, even before the show, what can live without the ostentation of spectacularity.
The performer and the public share a state of ignorance about how the performance will unfold, and what meanings emerge from it. As in Nando Taviani’s enclaves, the public contributes collectively to the construction of meanings. The plurality of these meanings is respected in the context of a dialogue – between the performer and the audience, and between members of the audience. If a performance does not have a single author, the narrative is not imposed by a single author. With no authority, the public can be a co-author too … will an an-“architecture” of thought emerge?
DURATION: between 40 and 60 minutes, followed by a discussion with the public.
Bio
Pablo Alvez Artinprocess (UK/PT) is an experimental performance artist, artist-researcher and performance philosopher. Pablo holds a PhD in poverty economics and is currently taking a 2nd PhD in Theatre at the University of Surrey, exploring an empowerment (rather than a power) relation between ethics and aesthetics, and more specifically establishing a dialogue between the ethics of philosopher Emmanuel Levinas and his own experiments in performance art. Member of Performance Studies International (PSi) and NALS (North American Levinas Society).
AstaroTheatro
Sint Jansstraat 37 Amsterdam
info@ourfootsteps.nl
Entrance by Donation
Chupwallah is a musical incarnation of Amsterdam based guitarist and composer John Newton from the North East of England, exploring the edges of traditional folk instruments and acoustic music through dynamic finger picking and unusual open tunings. The usual suspects in this affair include classical guitar, 12 string guitar, and the banjo.
https://chupwallah.bandcamp.com
AstaroTheatro 2022
IIRE International Institute for Research and Education
Lombokstraat 40 Amsterdam
Free Entrance. Donations welcomeMARX IS BACK (a play on history)meets IIRE Ecosocialist School
AstaroTheatro presents a monologue by Howard Zinn adapted and performed by Roberto Bacchilega
Karl Marx has had enough of seeing his revolution taken over by opportunists organizing each time a new priesthood and a new hierarchy, with excommunications and indexes, with inquisitions and firing squads. He is disgusted by media declaring him dead again and again. Karl Marx is back to remind us that his ideas are more alive than ever. He revisits memories of his courageous life and revolutionary theories. We learn about his family, his struggles and the boils on his arse.
Rembetiko Against The Machine
Saturday 19 November, 20:30
AstaroTheatro
Sint Jansstraat 37 Amsterdam
Entrance by Donation
Saturday 19/11 is rebetiko night at AstaroTheatro!
A session with rebetiko tunes from the 1930’s till the early 1950’s.
The period between the 1st and 2nd World Wars had a crucial role in the development of the Greek bouzouki players and the texture of the genre.
We are gonna perform rebetiko tunes from each period. Looking forward to see you there and enjoy the night with this unique atmosphere!!!
Ilias Konstantinidis: guitar, vocals
Giannis Leloudas: bouzouki, vocals
Argyris Papadimitriou: bouzouki, baglamadaki, vocals
2 October, 14:30
Theatre as Communal Experience
Start of a Theatre Workshop
Saturday 10 September, 20:30
Sint Jansstraat 37 Amsterdam
Entrance by Donation
Rebet guitarS
A guitar duet, will present the music of the legendary “Kostis”, the most enigmatic of all greek rebetika artists. 12+1 songs of truly unique guitar duets and black-humor lyrics chronicling the hash dens, prison culture and pickpockets of old Athens. Recorded in 1930-31 on 78 rpm records, under a pseudonym for export to the greeks living in America, research has uncovered the musician, journalist and cartoonist Kostas Bezos as the figure lurking behind the Kostis name, with ties to the famous singer and producer Tetos Demetriades. Renowned for his slide guitar playing in Hawaiian-style orchestras throughout the 1930s, the Kostis recordings reveal an entirely different underworld of the macabre and illicit. The use of guitar in these now-classic rebetika songs display a virtuosity of Near-Eastern modes and unusual tunings at the dawn of rebetika, when the bouzouki was yet to become supreme.
Thursday 14 July, 20:30
AstaroTheatro
Sint Jansstraat 37 Amsterdam
Renato Ferreira at AstaroTheatro
Renato Ferreira is a composer, saxophone and double-bass player, originally from São Paulo, Brazil.
In São Paulo, he was a member of the ensemble of Ricardo Zohyo, a long-term collaborator of Hermeto Pascoal, studying many forms of Brazilian folklore as well as Brazilian instrumental music.
After moving to the Netherlands, he played for many years in the Royal Improvisers Orchestra, together with some of the most exciting young musicians from the improvised music scene in Amsterdam and The Hague. With this group he performed several times at Amsterdam’s Bimhuis, including collaborations with Han Bennink, Steve Beresford, Phil Minton and the London Improvisers Orchestra.
Since 2015, he has been leading the Native Aliens Ensemble, a group that combines composition and free improvisation into an explosive mix with roots in traditional forms of Brazilian folk music. The Native Aliens Ensemble recorded a live CD at Teatro Munganga in Amsterdam, released by Trytone Records, and performed twice at the Bimhuis in 2016 and 2017.
He took part in the Music Of Inevitable Sounds, a project by the legendary bass player Luc Ex, joined by pianists Nora Mulder and Veryan Weston a.o., performing in several venues across Europe such as Konzerthaus Vienna as part of the Wien Modern Festival, Teatro San Leonardo in Bologna, Italy, Korzo theater in The Hague and Tivoli Vredenburg in Utrecht, the Netherlands, and Festival Ars Musica at Les Brigittines, Bruxelles, Belgium.
Renato has been an active improviser in Amsterdam since 2010, playing with musicians such as Burton Greene, Anne La Berge, Nora Mulder, Onno Govaert, Michael Moore, Yedo Gibson, Hans Houtman, John Dikeman, Jasper Stadhouders, Saartje van Kamp, Tobias Delius, Wilbert De Joode, Nico Chientaroli, Oene van Geel and many others.
He graduated at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague, where he studied contemporary composition with Martijn Padding, Cornelis De Bondt and Gilius van Bergeijk among others.
—
Renato Ferreira
http://renatomusica.wordpress.com
Saturday 18 June, 20:30
Sint Jansstraat 37 Amsterdam
Baschira & Yunus: A La Muntagna
Once upon time there was a song. A La Muntagna. And this song inspired a profound nexus of true international solidarity. From the mountains of Southern Italy to the peaks of Kurdistan.
Baschira, Italian musician and songwriter and Yunus, Kurdish musician and polyhedric artist began to play together and to influence each other. Now their different music and artistic backgrounds have come together to a higher level of inspiration for the audience of AstaroTheatro.
From Italy to Kurdistan. And vice versa
Once upon a time there was a song. A La Muntagna. And this song inspired a short theatre performance of unity and common struggle. Now this performance is ready to touch the people of AstaroTheatro.
We make the pains of the earth our own
An artistic diaspora at AstaroTheatro
Entrance by Donation
Sint Jansstraat 37 Amsterdam
The Stones Under My Foot
Double Bill: Theatre Performance and Music at AstaroTheatro:
The Stones Under My Foot
These are the stones you don’t know
I become the forest, the mountain, the sea, the desert
With: Arif Murat Gür, Baschira, Roberto Bacchilega
Ell Sol
Ell Sol is the solo acoustic project of Joan Mena (guitar and vocals) performer, guitarist, improviser and multitask from Catalunya
The Stones under My Foot is the third opening of Wind Rose. Openings at AstaroTheatro
In each event Q&A, Talks and a glass of RED wine
Entrance by Donation
20 May 2022. Doors open at 20:00 . Start at 20:30
Tenedle at AstaroTheatro
TENEDLE Plays a “solo” try-out of his new (next) album “D” at the amazing AstaroTheatro
Exclusive Only 20 Tickets
Includes unlimited streaming of Welcome Back – ExTENdedvia the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
A donation of 10€ (or more) is appreciated in support of the work of Tenedle and AstaroTheatro in these hard times, thanks so much!
Marx is Back at AstaroTheatro
a play on history
“Why have I returned? to clear my name!”
Karl Marx has had enough of seeing his revolution taken over by opportunists organizing each time a new priesthood and a new hierarchy, with excommunications and indexes, with inquisitions and firing squads. He is disgusted by media declaring him dead again and again. Karl Marx is back to remind us that his ideas are more alive than ever. He revisits memories of his courageous life and revolutionary theories. We learn about his family, his struggles and the boils on his arse.
After being performed for many years in all kind of venue, now it comes happily back at AstaroTheatro.
Marx is Back is a program of Wind Rose. Openings at AstaroTheatro
Each event will be followed by Q&A, Talks and a glass of RED wine
Entrance by Donation
Wind Rose. Openings at AstaroTheatro
Saturday 2 April. Doors open at 13.00
LaakTheater
Ferrandweg 4T The Hague
Marx is Back (a play on history)
“Why have I returned? to clear my name!”
AstaroTheatro presents a monologue by Howard Zinn adapted and performed by Roberto Bacchilega
Karl Marx has had enough of seeing his revolution taken over by opportunists organizing each time a new priesthood and a new hierarchy, with excommunications and indexes, with inquisitions and firing squads. He is disgusted by media declaring him dead again and again. Karl Marx is back to remind us that his ideas are more alive than ever. He revisits memories of his courageous life and revolutionary theories. We learn about his family, his struggles and the boils on his arse.
Friday 25 March
Ru Paré
Chris Lebeaustraat 4 Amsterdam
A La Muntagna
“Mountains are the cradle of the heroes”
How a song can inspire international solidarity
An event of talks, music, theatre and togetherness
A la Muntagna – Li Serê Çiya – Up to the Mountain
From the mountains of Southern Italy to the peaks of Kurdistan, the bilingual singings lead us through the footpath of rebellion and freedom. Two distant places and two different histories have never been so close.
The main power of the song lays on this deep sense of a different but at the same time so reciprocal recognizable history. A common ground for a profound nexus of true international solidarity.
In 2019 when we heard A La Muntagna played by an international band in a political underground space in Utrecht, The Netherlands, tears and memories overwhelmed us. We decided then to create a new song based on the old original one, linking the old struggle of the people in Southern Italy with the Kurdish effort for a cultural and political dignity.
At the end of the nineteenth century, immediately after the Italian unification, Southern Italy suffered greatly under the hegemonic power from Northern Italy. Many people in the South went up to the mountains and became ‘briganti’, outlaws, starting a struggle against the oppression and in the name of freedom. The original song A La Muntagna, in Southern Italian language, tells this story.
The same story is still very much true today for the Kurds. Mountains as a synonym of fight for freedom and dignity are very much a feature of the ongoing Kurdish struggle. The struggle against oppression starts from the mountains.
So now the solidarity of Southern Italians with the Kurds lives within the song A La Muntagna, ready to reach out to a full international solidarity. From the mountains to the valleys, anywhere international solidarity is needed in the name of liberation from political abuse, geopolitical hegemony, wars, social injustice and brutal imperialism.
The project has been realized without any financial support and thus personally paid by Harun Turan, its initiator. Musicians and singers from Kurdistan and Italy have come together to create this artistic work of music, video and grassroots arts.
Now A La Muntagna is all yours. We wish that you are ready to embrace its artistic value and its human and political meaning.
A project by Harun Turan in collaboration with AstaroTheatro and Our Footsteps
Acoustic guitar: Harun Elki
Percussions: Şener Yolal
Tongue pipe: Erdi Aslan
Ukulele: Cem Dikmen
Bass guitar: Uğur Nazlıer
Melodika: Yasar Ilgın
Mix: Harun Elki
Mastering: Özgur Yurtoğlu
Kurdish singing: Şervan Turan
Italian singing: Irene Rametta, Alice Casarosa, Sara Bianchi
Composer Italian Lyrics: Eugenio Bennato
Kurdish Lyrics: Tuncay Korkmaz and Harun Turan
Video animation maker: Selen Kilinç
Many thanks to: Humeyra, Maşuk Erten, Yunus Bilir and to the many friends supporting this project. Special thanks to Ru Paré for hosting this event
Event Program:
18:30-20:00
Dinner
20:00-20:05
Welcome and brief presentation of the event
20:05-20:55
Panel: From the mountains to the valleys
International stories of struggles, resistance and liberation
With: Harun Turan (Kurdistan), Michela Rossi and Luigi Dorato (Italy), Nataly Bernal (Colombia), Betina Abi Habib (Lebanon), Jesse van Duijl (The Netherlands)
Moderator: Basak Sila Kaymak
20:55-21.00
Short break
21:00-21:25
Live Music and Theatre
Yunus Bilir
Baschira
AstaroTheatro
21:25- 21:45
A la Muntagna – Li Serê Çiya – Up to the Mountain
Introduction to the song A La Muntagna
Video A La Muntagna
Q&A
Entrance by Donation. Note: this is a non-profit project. Your kind donations will help us to cover all the necessary costs to make this project possible
AstaroTheatro 2021
Saturday 27 November at 16:00
De Ruimte
Distelweg 83 Amsterdam
Follow the Dolphins by AstaroTheatro and Our Footsteps at:
Baschira presents: Zdasdat | Baschira Album Release Party
On November 27, the long-awaited “Zdasdat” album by Baschirawill be released, let’s celebrate together! It will be a day full of music, stories, theatre and plenty of delicious food, at the ever so charming “De Ruimte”.
Special guests of the day:
Follow the Dolphins
A theatrical work in progress by AstaroTheatro and Our Footsteps
Picture by Melanja Palitta | Balans LaB
While getting inspired by the presence of the Zapatistas, we face lies, we witness cities falling apart and we focus our struggle on the stream of the white blood cells of humanity. But the best thing to do, as usual, is to follow the dolphins
With Ayşenur Akın, Arif Murat Gür and Roberto Bacchilega
Original text ‘The Dolphins” co-written by Mohamed S. Bah and Ayşenur Akın
Saturday 6 November
20:00 Doors Open
20:30 Start of Four Seasons
Four Seasons in a Lost Year
Four Artists in One Venue
Four Artists come together, carrying their personal and artistic history, ready to share it with the audience of AstaroTheatro.
It’s hard to say whether ‘Time present and time past’ are lost or ‘Are both perhaps present in time future’.
What’s sure is that Four Seasons in a Lost Year is a much-needed event of renewed community sharing.
We have been distant for too long, now it’s time to get closer.
Four Artists (in no particular order):
Victor Sams
Madam Bruno
Godfrey Lado
Roberto Bacchilega
One Venue:
Saturday 6 November
20:00 Doors Open.
20:30 Start of Four Seasons
AstaroTheatro
Sint Jansstraat 37 Amsterdam
Entrance by Donation
Victor Sams:
Victor Sams the singer, multi-instrumentalist was born on Statia a Caribbean island which was also called once upon a time because of its history the Golden Rock. The kamélé ngoni he plays comes from the harp family in Mali which is referred to in West Africa as the mother of harps. His musical story is rooted in a social combination of Caribbean-African music. victorsams.nl
Madam Bruno:
Madam Bruno hails from one of the most historic, cultured, creative and beautiful place on the planet, Napoli in Italy. Coming from a region so diverse and rich in culture, since a child, Madam Bruno took full advantage of her surroundings.
Her pallet of taste and inspirations is vast and matches her experience within theatrical and musical productions.
www.madambruno.com
Godfrey Lado:
From A War Child to Asylum A Refugee, from a Refugee to Assignment a medium of social cultural change and exchange.
Godfrey Lado is a multidisciplinary and a multidimensionally free soul; speaker, teller, poet, singer and a writer.
Roberto Bacchilega:
Performer and artistic director at AstaroTheatro. He presents:
The Want
An excerpt from ‘In the solitude of the cotton fields’ by Bernard-Marie Koltès
The Dealer is always there to remind you that ‘you must want something’. So be aware that you are nothing but a consumer in a consumers’ world. Unless you don’t want The Want.
Showtime: 20:30
Ticket 5 € at the door
Arif Murat Gür
Roberto Bacchilega
Original text ‘The Dolphins” co-written by Mohamed S. Bah and Aysenur Akin
Emma Van Dobben: Accordion
Tilo Baumheier: Flute
Tilo Baumheier: Flute
Emma Van Dobben: Accordion
Floris Van Elderen: Drums
Julia Kooreman: Bass
Week Tegen Racisme 15-19 March
Pakhuis de Zwijger
Friday 19 March, 20:30-21:30 Footsteps against racism at “Words Against Racism”
LIVE via link: https://dezwijger.nl/programma/words-against-racism
Footsteps against racism
Moments of past migrants’ lives and of current theatre and activism
From voices of dolphins guiding migrants across threatening waters to singings of protest and revolution. And also strong voices against oppression, torture and discrimination, the cry of a refugee camp and the scream to racism visible even in a colorful world map.
And now here we are, captured in our daily routine and yet still struggling as before. But now somehow knowing better how to break the boundaries of our constraints.
Footsteps Against Racism is a theatre performance created by the same migrants and refugees collective that has successfully performed Our Footsteps throughout 2019 and the beginning of 2020. Now the collective is here, ready for Week Tegen Racisme
Performers: Arif Murat Gür, Aysenur Akin, Erhan Calihan, Harun Turan, Maral Jefroudi, Maurizia Mezza, Rahila Yideaiti, Roberto Bacchilega, Zeki Barlin
Original text ‘The Dolphins” co-written by Mohamed S. Bah and Aysenur Akin
Original texts by Arif Murat Gür, Erhan Calihan, Rahila Yideaiti
Brackground scenery by Karin Schoutema
Pictures by Melanja Palitta | BalansLaB
Many thanks to IIRE International Institute for Research and Education for supporting and welcoming us
An “Our Footsteps” and “AstaroTheatro” production
(picture from our dress rehearsal)
Our Footsteps Theatre Collective is at The Babble on Babylon
Our collective presents a short performance during this event, so be there!
The Babble of Babylon at Vrij Paleis
Friday the 14th August from 19:00
Paleisstraat 107 Amsterdam
Event here
A 3 day affair reflecting Amsterdam’s creative underground from the 60’s to NOW.
Opening event: Friday the 14th August from 19:00
ingredients: live painting. poets. theatrical acts. paintbombfactory. ludieke-publieke aksie. radio. film.
all this situation- is coronaproof!
+++bar is open+++
Contributors:
Chantal Hassard
Daniel Rakish
AstaroTheatro-Our Footsteps
Koes Komo
Aja Waalwijk
Hans Plomp
Our Footsteps is a project by AstaroTheatro, IIRE and Stichting Vrolijkheid
AstaroTheatro March 2020
Thursday 19 March
Pakhuis de Zwijger
Piet Heinkade 179 Amsterdam
21:00 Our Footsteps Theatre Performance
Our Footsteps at Pakhuis de Zwijger Amsterdam
Our Footsteps at ‘Week tegen racisme-festival sta op tegen racisme 2020″
Info& Reservations
Migrants’ narratives as an artistic affirmation of our human dignity and a call for political awareness
Twenty migrants/refugees artists or performers in ten languages. The result of five months of playful improvisational rehearsals, where through self-representation, migrants share stories of their journey and living in the Netherlands facing a long-lasting uncertainty after having crossed many, colonial, borders.
AstaroTheatro February 2020
Saturday 8 February
Studio/K
Timorplein 62 Amsterdam
19:00 Oriental Dinner
20:Our Footsteps Theatre Performance
Dinner Reservations: 020 – 692 04 22 // price: €5
AstaroTheatro at Studio/K
AstaroTheatro January 2020
On the Harmful Effects of Tobacco
A Monologue by Anton Chekhov
“It is what it is, it’s all the same to me”, Ivan’s prologue. Is that ostensible latency the main element of Ivan Ivanovich Nyukhin, the character of the monologue “On the harmful effects of tobacco”?
The plays of Chekhov have definite intensity and the fire of action, but not in an external outline rather than in their internal structure. Under this ostensible latency and inertia of his characters, is hidden a multifarious and complex activity which is given with original virtuosity and deep knowledge of the psychical temper of every character. Possibly because these characters are mirroring his personal psychical status: the tyrant father, the solitude of his childhood, the loneliness of the boring small town where he grew up. This play is not a comedy either a drama. It is an excellent narrative of an ordinary person, a psychography given in a literary way which reflects the still and depressive life of the delusional society of Tsarist Russia.
The way Ivan is “moving” looks like he lost his orientation in life. There is a force inside him that makes him unmovable. He is giving a lecture on the harmful effects of tobacco though he is smoker himself. Why? So many unfulfilled dreams, Don Quixotic ambitions condemned to fail into the dull routine of daily life.
In our interpretation of the play there is something “new”, like the sense of hope that a new born baby is giving.
We welcome you to discover it!
Starring: Roberto Bacchilega
Direction: Vasiliki Koutrouli
Video Teaser: Melanja Palitta / BalansLaB
Picture by Cenk Dövyap
(Entrance by Donation)
AstaroTheatro December 2019
Friday 13 December, 20:30
AstaroTheatro
Event here
A Reflection on Democracy
Imperialism, colonial projects, free-market economic policies, union busting, war…all these things, and many more, have been justified and keep on being justified day after day under the name of Democracy.Democracy, this word that is always lauded, claimed by right-wing parties and by left-wing ones just as well. They all bring it in their name as something worth fighting for, never really mentioning what they mean by it. This word, that in reality means Power to the people is more often simply interpreted as “delegate and stop caring, go vote and then in four, five years let’s see again”.
‘Cause if we are living under the people’s rule, and therefore our own rule, why is it that there is a constant feeling of loss of autonomy and self-determination over our own lives? It comes necessary to reflect on this word, on this form of government that is so rarely practiced in full. To reflect around what Democracy even means in the first place and what we mean when we say we want a democratic system.
Who gets to be included in a democratic system and who is left out? Can a real democracy co-exist with a market-ruled capitalist system? On this evening, we are going to screen a series of interviews with contemporary thinkers, activists and common people on the concept and the implications of democracy, we hope that this will serve as a basis to reflect together on Democracy.
Screening and Open discussion
Free entrance
Thursday 5 December, 21:00
IIRE International Institute for Research and Education
Lombokstraat 40 Amsterdam
MARX IS BACK (a play on history)
“Why have I returned? to clear my name!”
AstaroTheatro presents a monologue by Howard Zinn adapted and performed by Roberto Bacchilega
Karl Marx has had enough of seeing his revolution taken over by opportunists organizing each time a new priesthood and a new hierarchy, with excommunications and indexes, with inquisitions and firing squads. He is disgusted by media declaring him dead again and again. Karl Marx is back to remind us that his ideas are more alive than ever. He revisits memories of his courageous life and revolutionary theories. We learn about his family, his struggles and the boils on his arse.
Twenty migrants/refugees artists or performers in ten languages. The result of five months of playful improvisational rehearsals, where through self-representation, migrants share stories of their journey and living in the Netherlands facing a long-lasting uncertainty after having crossed many, colonial, borders.
A project by AstaroTheatro, IIRE and Stichting Vrolijkheid
www.ourfootsteps.nl
AstaroTheatro November 2019
Saturday 23 November from 19:00
NieuwLand. Pieter Nieuwlandstraat 93 Amsterdam
a Spring of People
Rojava
#riseup4rojava
collective grassroots horizontal democracy
join us in international solidarity against (geo)political oppression
a Spring of People
Saturday 2 November, 20:30
Haagse Toneelvereniging
Lange Lombardstraat 38, The Hague
(as part of the event ‘Constrained! An evening of theatre and poetry’)
AstaroTheatro
presents
‘On The Harmful Effects of Tobacco’
A theatre monologue by Anton Chekhov
Direction: Vasiliki Koutrouli
Starring: Roberto Bacchilega
Photography and Video: Melanja Palitta / BalansLaB
“It is what it is, it’s all the same to me”, Ivan’s prologue. Is that ostensible latency the main element of Ivan Ivanovich Nyukhin, the character of the monologue “On the harmful effects of tobacco”?
The way Ivan is “moving” looks like he lost his orientation in life. There is a force inside him that makes him unmovable. He is giving a lecture on the harmful effects of tobacco though he is smoker himself. Why? So many unfulfilled dreams, Don Quixotic ambitions condemned to fail into the dull routine of daily life.
In our interpretation of the play there is something “new”, like the sense of hope that a new born baby is giving. We welcome you to discover it!
Friday 8 November, 20:30
Redemption Song
Documentary Screening at AstaroTheatro
REDEMPTION SONG
by Cristina Mantis
Finalist Premio Solinas
Supported by MIBAC. Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali
Winner of the prize RAI CINEMA
Supported by Amnesty International
Synopsis
The documentary film Redemption Song sings the song of redemption that the African Cissoko, dreams for his people and his land.
Having arrived in Italy, Cissoko, a war refugee, becomes aware of the startling number of deaths caught in the wake of his Mediterranean crossing, brothers who have perished and who continue to perish at sea while taking the same migration route. At the same time he observes the extreme precariousness and subjugation, in its various forms, that his immigrant brothers often experience in Europe, where their living conditions are markedly different from what they once dreamed.
Cissoko, therefore, decides to do something to convince his young brothers to not emigrate in search of false dreams, but to act only with a free mind, aware of the risks and real difficulties awaiting them. So it is with a small video camera that he begins to film what to his eyes is alarming. Later, upon returning to Africa, he will project the images in schools and villages, hoping to contribute to an awakening of his peopleto alert his fellow Africans of the terrible risks of this migration. Nevertheless, our refugee’s return journey soon transforms into a personal and collective reflection shared with his people.
The protagonist invites his people not only to free themselves from the “mental slavery” of the obsessive dream of reaching the West at any cost, but also urges them to reconsider the value of living in their native land, working together for its growth and fighting relentlessly for their rights. In wishing for a reversal to the diaspora, our protagonist often evokes the figure of Thomas Sankara for support. Sankara’s words “obsessed” with emancipating Africa from its colonial past-present still ring incredibly true; and, in fact, they often figure as the only solution for empowering an Africa ever fragmented by misery and wars, the resulting desperation of which continues to drive its people to undertake an uncertain and often deadly journey.
Nonetheless, despite the objective hardships of present-day African, our protagonist pushes on the accelerator of his creed. And, convinced of the need for true unity, Cissoko departs from Senegal’s Gorée Island (historic slave-trade departure point) to fly to the Brazilian quilombos where he will pay homage to the proud descendants of slaves still struggling to keep their African origins alive.
Entrance by Donation
Sunday 17 November, 20:30
The Barricade
Voorstraat 71 Utrecht
Info Here
Our Footsteps at The Barricade
Migrants’ narratives as artistic affirmation of our human dignity and a call for political awareness
Twenty migrants/refugees artists or performers in ten languages. The result of five months of playful improvisational rehearsals, where through self-representation, migrants share stories of their journey and living in the Netherlands facing a long lasting uncertainty after having crossed many, colonial, borders.
We believe arts need to engage society; they need to represent today’s turmoil.
To this end we come together as migrants, political refugees and locals in order to create a performance: an act of theatre, poetry, music, performance art, choreography. And an act of activism, of human and political togetherness. Projects such as this one are seldom seen in the Netherlands. Hence our artistic intervention. It’s time to stop seeing the migrant as ‘problematic’ or ‘troublesome.’ It’s time to go beyond the politics of social segregation as mass distraction.
Our performance seeks to transcend the political pitfalls of discrimination and hate peculiar to our present and confused world. We want our performance to be a safe haven, a place where diversity is richness and discrimination can only vanish.
AstaroTheatro October 2019
Saturday 19 October, 21:00
Podium Mozaïek
Bos en Lommerweg 191 Amsterdam
Info & Tickets via Podium Mozaïek Website or Facebook
Our Footsteps at Podium Mozaïek Amsterdam
Migrants’ narratives as artistic affirmation of our human dignity and a call for political awareness
Twenty migrants/refugees artists or performers in ten languages. The result of five months of playful improvisational rehearsals, where through self-representation, migrants share stories of their journey and living in the Netherlands facing a long lasting uncertainty after having crossed many, colonial, borders.
We believe arts need to engage society; they need to represent today’s turmoil.
To this end we come together as migrants, political refugees and locals in order to create a performance: an act of theatre, poetry, music, performance art, choreography. And an act of activism, of human and political togetherness. Projects such as this one are seldom seen in the Netherlands. Hence our artistic intervention. It’s time to stop seeing the migrant as ‘problematic’ or ‘troublesome.’ It’s time to go beyond the politics of social segregation as mass distraction.
Our performance seeks to transcend the political pitfalls of discrimination and hate peculiar to our present and confused world. We want our performance to be a safe haven, a place where diversity is richness and discrimination can only vanish.
A project by AstaroTheatro, IIRE and Stichting Vrolijkheid
With the support of Academie voor Theater en Dans
Photo credits: Unai Risueño
Friday 11 October, 20:30
LÉONORE BOULANGER (QUARTET) + ELL SOL (TRIO) at ASTAROTHEATRO
LÉONORE BOULANGER
On their fourth album of deconstructed chanson, Léonore Boulanger and Jean- Daniel Botta, assisted by drummer and percussionist Laurent Seriès, have taken a major step up. If previous album Feigen Feigen was, by the band’s own admission, something of a puzzle then Practice Chanter could be likened to a mosaic, due to the sheer quantity and variety of sonic fragments that is somehow made to cohere in these 16 wild, wonderful tracks. But even that doesn’t quite do justice to a 3D vision that can maintain so many disparate elements in uneasy equilibrium – I suspect the cubist female portrait on the sleeve is an attempt to convey a similar idea.
www.lesaule.fr/leonoreboulanger.htm
ELL SOL
Joan Mena is a solo artist, guitarist, multi instrumentalist, organizer, performer, improviser and multitask from Catalonia based in The Netherlands.
His groundbreaking performances push the boundaries of contemporary music with the soul and sensibility of an artist looking to connect in deeper ways with his audiences. Primarily in his native Catalan, his lyrics transcend language with penetrating melodies and a familiar but unconventional delivery.
Inspired by DIY world-touring Joan Mena presented his last work PWALUGU in 16 countries around 3 continents in the last years.
Nou Principi is his very new work, an acoustic volcano of questions and answers
performed with the percusionist Rubén Castillo and the maestro James Hewitt at viola. New begginings and other endings in a powerful set of songs.
‘’Does Catalonian balladry involve a lot of sighing, whispering, squawking and screeching? Well regardless if it does or it doesn’t we got that. Charming and very surprising show, a whole new approach to playing a guitar. ̈
Richard James Foster -The Quietus, Louder than War, Vice… (Incendiary Magazine )
https://www.ellsol.tk/
Entrance by Donation
AstaroTheatro September 2019
Inter.Nos Festival at AstaroTheatro
*Friday 13 September, 20:30
The Hamlet Machine
Rudolf Watzlawik Ceschia
*Saturday 14 September, 20:30
Between Worms & Gods
Juan C. Tajes
Country: Uruguay/The Netherlands; Language: English
*Saturday 14 September, 21:30
The Things of Death
Alejandra Nettel
Country: Mexico; Language: Spanish
*Sunday 15 September, 15:00
Video Lounge
Mariana Behoteguy Chaves
Rudolf Watzlawik Ceschia
Juan C. Tajes
Rodrigo M. Malmsten
AstaroTheatro June 2019
Friday 28 June, 20:00
Ru Paré Community
Chris Lebeaustraat 4, Amsterdam
Our Footsteps at Ru Paré
A Theatre Performance
Migrants’ narratives as artistic affirmation of our human dignity and a call for political awareness
A project by AstaroTheatro, IIRE and Stichting Vrolijkheid
With the support of Academie voor Theater en Dans
More than 20 migrants/refugees artists or performers in 10 languages. The result of 5 months of playful improvisational rehearsals, where through self-representation, migrants share stories of their journey and living in the Netherlands facing a long lasting uncertainty after having crossed many, colonial, borders.
Our Footsteps has been successfully performed in Theater Perdu and in Academie voor Theater en Dans. Both dates were sold out as a confirmation of the urgency of this kind of theatre. At the moment Our Footsteps is an on-going project, a work in progress constantly reshaping itself to the artistic and social challenges of our times. Did you miss our previous shows? Our Footsteps will be performed again Friday 28 June, 20:00 at Ru Paré Community in Amsterdam.
Performers:
Arif Murat Gür, Ayhan Karaağaç, Ayşenur Akın, Elif İleriye Girgin, Erhan Çalıhan, Ersin Adıgül, Farzin Bapiri, Harun Turan, Hüseyin Aykan, Iris Maria Tsagri, İsmail Atalamış, Karin Schuitema, Levent Girgin, Maral Jefroudi, Mhmod Pozan, Roberto Bacchilega, Rüzgar Gür, Savalan Ghodsi, Sayat Tekir, Sedat Kartal, Souloke Sen, Ufuk Çalımlı, Vasiliki Koutrouli, Yusuf Adam Suali, Zeki Barlin
Directed by Roberto Bacchilega in collaboration with the performers
Theatre Training: Vasiliki Koutrouli
Dramaturgy: Arif Murat Gür
Stage Movement: Ayhan Karaağaç
Project Facilitator: Maral Jefroudi
Sound Design: Levent Girgin
Production Assistant and Videoproduction: Chihiro Geuzenbroek
Promotion and Stage Photography: Unai Risueño
Graphics: Savalan Ghodsi
Info & Tickets at Ru Paré
Sunday 23 June, 20:00
AstaroTheatro hosts the screening of Paese Nostro (in Italian)
ZaLab presenta
PAESE NOSTRO
Il film che avremmo voluto mostrarvi
di Michele Aiello, Matteo Calore, Stefano Collizzolli, Andrea Segre, Sara Zavarise
Un film collettivo sull’Italia dell’accoglienza diffusa, realizzato dagli autori ZaLab nel 2016 prodotto dal Ministero degli Interni ma mai distribuito
In Italia esiste un mondo che sta aiutando la crescita del Paese, è quello degli operatori e mediatori dei progetti di accoglienza della rete SPRAR, un sistema pubblico basato sulla sinergia tra Comuni, Ministero degli Interni e associazioni. ZaLab ha voluto raccontare questo mondo, seguendo le vite, i pensieri, i sogni, le fatiche di chi ogni giorno lavora nella costruzione di un futuro complesso e necessario.
L’idea è stata proposta nel 2016 ad un bando del fondo FAMI gestito dal Ministero degli Interni. Il bando è stato vinto e il film è stato fatto. Poi però non è mai uscito, perché il Ministero, proprietario dei diritti del film, l’ha chiuso in un cassetto. Sia con Marco Minniti Ministro, sia ora con Matteo Salvini.
Ci sembra un grande errore tenere nascosto il racconto di questa Italia, ancora più oggi che sta subendo misure e voci di isolamento e segregazione.
ZaLab avrebbe voluto che Paese Nostrofosse mostrato sin dalla sua finalizzazione, a inizi 2017. Non è stato possibile. Ancora oggi non potremmo farlo, invece lo mostriamo.
Mettiamo gratuitamente a disposizione di tutti il film che qualcuno vorrebbe non farvi vedere.
AstaroTheatro January February March April May 2019
Saturday 25 May
Academie voor Theater en Dans
Jodenbreestraat 3 Amsterdam
Our Footsteps
A Theatre Performance
Migrants’ narratives as artistic affirmation of our human dignity
and a call for political awareness
A project by AstaroTheatro, IIRE and Stichting Vrolijkheid
More than 20 migrants/refugees artists or performers in 10 languages. The result of 5 months of playful improvisational rehearsals, where through self-representation, migrants share stories of their journey and living in the Netherlands facing a long lasting uncertainty after having crossed many, colonial, borders.We believe arts need to engage society; they need to represent today’s turmoil.
To this end we come together as migrants, political refugees and locals in order to create a performance: an act of theatre, poetry, music, performance art, choreography. And an act of activism, of human and political togetherness. Projects such as this one are seldom seen in the Netherlands. Hence our artistic intervention. It’s time to stop seeing the migrant as ‘problematic’ or ‘troublesome.’ It’s time to go beyond the politics of social segregation as mass distraction.
Our performance seeks to transcend the political pitfalls of discrimination and hate peculiar to our present and confused world. We want our performance to be a safe haven, a place where diversity is richness and discrimination can only vanish.
Be welcome!Performers:
Arif Murat Gür, Ayhan Karaağaç, Ayşenur Akın, Elif İleriye Girgin, Erhan Çalıhan, Ersin Adıgül, Farzin Bapiri, Fatima Hajyahya, Hüseyin Aykan, Iris Maria Tsagri, İsmail Atalamış, Karin Schuitema, Levent Girgin, Maral Jefroudi, Mhmod Pozan, Roberto Bacchilega, Savalan Ghodsi, Sayat Tekir, Sedat Kartal, Souloke Sen, Ufuk Çalımlı, Vasiliki Koutrouli, Yusuf Adam Suali, Zeki Barlin Directed by Roberto Bacchilega in collaboration with the performers
Theatre Training: Vasiliki Koutrouli
Dramaturgy: Arif Murat Gür
Stage Movement: Ayhan Karaağaç
Sound Design: Levent Girgin
Project Facilitator: Maral Jefroudi
Production Assistant and Videoproduction: Chihiro Geuzenbroek
Promotion and Stage Photography: Unai Risueño
Graphics: Savalan GhodsiWith the support of Academie voor Theater en Dans
Many Thanks to: Tenedle (video and photography), Victor Sams (rhythm and sound training), Ersin Adıgül (Photography) and an endless number of friends, comrades and supporters who have been inspiring us during the journey to our theatre performanceTickets: Free Entrance. We welcome donations
Reservation is required via this link
Saturday 18 May
Theater Perdu
Kloveniersburgwal 86 Amsterdam
Our Footsteps
A Theatre Performance
Migrants’ narratives as artistic affirmation of our human dignity
and a call for political awareness
A project by AstaroTheatro, IIRE and Stichting Vrolijkheid
More than 20 migrants/refugees artists or performers in 10 languages. The result of 5 months of playful improvisational rehearsals, where through self-representation, migrants share stories of their journey and living in the Netherlands facing a long lasting uncertainty after having crossed many, colonial, borders.We believe arts need to engage society; they need to represent today’s turmoil.
To this end we come together as migrants, political refugees and locals in order to create a performance: an act of theatre, poetry, music, performance art, choreography. And an act of activism, of human and political togetherness. Projects such as this one are seldom seen in the Netherlands. Hence our artistic intervention. It’s time to stop seeing the migrant as ‘problematic’ or ‘troublesome.’ It’s time to go beyond the politics of social segregation as mass distraction.
Our performance seeks to transcend the political pitfalls of discrimination and hate peculiar to our present and confused world. We want our performance to be a safe haven, a place where diversity is richness and discrimination can only vanish.
Be welcome!Performers:
Arif Murat Gür, Ayhan Karaağaç, Ayşenur Akın, Elif İleriye Girgin, Erhan Çalıhan, Ersin Adıgül, Farzin Bapiri, Fatima Hajyahya, Hüseyin Aykan, Iris Maria Tsagri, İsmail Atalamış, Karin Schuitema, Levent Girgin, Maral Jefroudi, Mhmod Pozan, Roberto Bacchilega, Savalan Ghodsi, Sayat Tekir, Sedat Kartal, Souloke Sen, Ufuk Çalımlı, Vasiliki Koutrouli, Yusuf Adam Suali, Zeki Barlin Directed by Roberto Bacchilega in collaboration with the performers
Theatre Training: Vasiliki Koutrouli
Dramaturgy: Arif Murat Gür
Stage Movement: Ayhan Karaağaç
Sound Design: Levent Girgin
Project Facilitator: Maral Jefroudi
Production Assistant and Videoproduction: Chihiro Geuzenbroek
Promotion and Stage Photography: Unai Risueño
Graphics: Savalan GhodsiWith the support of Academie voor Theater en Dans
Many Thanks to: Tenedle (video and photography), Victor Sams (rhythm and sound training), Ersin Adıgül (Photography) and an endless number of friends, comrades and supporters who have been inspiring us during the journey to our theatre performanceTickets € 10
Tickets Low Income € 5
Please make your reservation: info@ondaitaliana.org
Your name will be on the guest list
Payment: cash at the theatre’s foyer or on AstaroTheatro account. More details when you send us your reservation
Friday 19 April, 20:30
Radio Vostok-2
International avant-garde project “Radio Vostok-2
with the program: ” The escape of an African from Siberia”
Six participants of this amazing recreate the tragic and strange story of African Mosley Motanga, who in the dashing 90s of the last century stole a locomotive (with him was his friend Roma) and drove it in the winter from Irkutsk to Novosibirsk to meet with his sister.
African ancestral songs, excerpts from Gypsy, French and Siberian folklore, free jazz themes, throat singing and video-a hallucination of the main character, against which there will be dancers and musicians.
This story was listened to and watched by avant-garde fans in Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Belgorod, St. Petersburg, Irkutsk, Voronezh, Dusseldorf, Stockholm, Rotterdam, Hamburg and Berlin. In each new city, new musicians participated in the project, and this story looked new.
Musicians: Igor Titenko (tenor saxophone, trumpet, flute, vocals), Stefanie Janssen(vocals), Hernán Samá (tenor saxophone), Björk Níelsdóttir (vocals , strings), Pietro Elia Barcellona (double bass), Izabella Pacewicz (performance).
Saturday 20 April, 20:30
Reading Evening at AstaroTheatro: Work/Consume
“It was another beautiful day in the small capitalist country. Meanwhile the radio was playing a well-known tune. The rhythm was joyful, the chorus was catchy, it stuck in your head. It went like: ‘Work and consume…’.
‘Work and consume…’, said the TV.
‘Work and consume…’, was written on the newspapers.
Work, consume and… die. ” (A. Celestini)
Is work today serving any other purpose that is not the accumulation of goods and the satisfaction of a made-up need for an individualist consumption? What is the worker aiming for while performing a task that devour (at least) one third of their existence if not acquiring with money what will allow them to consume, and consequently destroy or use other goods created with the only goal to satisfy them?
Our reading night is an event where we want to get together and share some good readings about the work/consume addiction.
We believe in the importance of experiencing reading as a collective act as a form of resistance and in the empowering feeling that doing so can generate.
Do you feel like sharing a prose text, a poem or your own words with us? Send us an email at barricade@riseup.net
The reading should be max 10 minutes long and can be in whatever language you prefer.
If you don’t feel like reading, join us anyway on Saturday 20 April at 20.30 at AstaroTheatro in Amsterdam to hear some readings about the work/consume addiction.
Saturday 6 April, 20:30
On The Harmful Effects of Tobacco
A Monologue by Anton Chekhov
“It is what it is, it’s all the same to me”, Ivan’s prologue. Is that ostensible latency the main element of Ivan Ivanovich Nyukhin, the character of the monologue “On the harmful effects of tobacco”?
The plays of Chekhov have definite intensity and the fire of action, but not in an external outline rather than in their internal structure. Under this ostensible latency and inertia of his characters, is hidden a multifarious and complex activity which is given with original virtuosity and deep knowledge of the psychical temper of every character. Possibly because these characters are mirroring his personal psychical status: the tyrant father, the solitude of his childhood, the loneliness of the boring small town where he grew up. This play is not a comedy either a drama. It is an excellent narrative of an ordinary person, a psychography given in a literary way which reflects the still and depressive life of the delusional society of Tsarist Russia.
The way Ivan is “moving” looks like he lost his orientation in life. There is a force inside him that makes him unmovable. He is giving a lecture on the harmful effects of tobacco though he is smoker himself. Why? So many unfulfilled dreams, Don Quixotic ambitions condemned to fail into the dull routine of daily life.
In our interpretation of the play there is something “new”, like the sense of hope that a new born baby is giving.
We welcome you to discover it!
Vasiliki Koutrouli – Roberto Bacchilega
Riace Project – A Performance
Migrants’ narratives as artistic affirmation of our human dignity and a call for political awareness
A project by AstaroTheatro
Artwork kindly by Visual Artist Golrokh Nafisi
We need to go beyond the banality of borders. Borders do not create anything. Borders destroy. What we want is creation, because creating is life itself. It is as fundamental as the air we breathe.
Migration is as old as mankind. Today, however, the migration has been politicised. The guardians of the borders have turned migration into a tool used to spread hate, intolerance, dissociation, social unrest and insecurity. It’s an increasingly effective way to divide people. More than the good old ‘divide et impera,’ the current form of migration is used to separating people socially and humanly.
To understand this dangerous political agenda is to see how it undermines our politics, and our humanity.
We’ve chosen to name our project Riace so as to pay homage to the Southern Italian’s town homonymous ‘Riace Model.’ That model refers to how this small town became a safe haven for hundreds of migrants by promoting an integrated way of life and sustainable coexistence with the local population.
We believe the arts need to engage society; they need to represent today’s turmoil. Moreover, we acknowledge the cathartic function of the arts, and we are aware of arts’ potential as a means of raising awareness. Words, sounds, images need to transcend the fixity of our everyday and provoke the audience into rising above the level of the given to that of the possible. Through this process, the uselessness of borders is made evident, giving way to the human necessity found in peaceful coexistence.
To this end we come together as migrants, political refugees and locals in order to create a performance: an act of theatre, poetry, music, performance art, choreography. And an act of activism, of human and political togetherness. Although most of the participants are not professional artists, their performance will be one of artistic character, containing human and political meaning. Although similar works are regularly performed in other countries, projects such as this one are seldom seen in the Netherlands. Hence our artistic intervention. It’s time to stop seeing the migrant as ‘problematic’ or ‘troublesome.’ It’s time to go beyond the politics of social segregation as mass distraction.
Our performance seeks to transcend the political pitfalls of discrimination and hate peculiar to our present and confused world. We want our performance to be a safe haven, a place where diversity is richness and discrimination can only vanish. Our performance is our Riace.
Be welcome!
(AstaroTheatro will be dedicated to develop and rehearse this performance in the months of January, February, March and April 2019. Performances are expected from May onwards in various venues. Fell free to contact us for information, support and collaboration: info@ondaitaliana.org)
AstaroTheatro December 2018
Saturday 15 December, 20:30
Revenir
81 mins/2018
a film by David Fedele and Kumut Imesh
Special Event: Screening and Q&A
Both David and Kumut are present during the screening and are available for Q&A
A controversial film experiment, a courageous journey and a unique collaboration between filmmaker and refugee; which is not without consequences.
For years, the stories of West African migrants and refugees have been told through the lenses of foreign journalists. Now there is a story from the inside.
Part road-trip, part memoir, part journalistic investigation, REVENIR (2018, 81mins) follows Kumut Imesh, a refugee from the Ivory Coast now living in France, as he returns to the African continent and attempts to retrace the same journey that he himself took when forced to flee civil war in his country … But this time with a camera in his hand.
Traveling alone, Kumut will be documenting his own journey; both as the main protagonist in front of the camera, as well as the person behind it, revealing the human struggle for freedom and dignity on one of the most dangerous migratory routes in the world.
Entrance by Donation
(note: all donations will be used to reimburse the travel expenses of Kumut and David)
AstaroTheatro November 2018
Saturday 24 November, 20:30
Songs of Love and Rage
by Almudena Rubio and Davide Cristiani
Almudena Rubio (Madrid) & Davide Cristiani (Bologna)
Almudena Rubio, an Amsterdam based singer, comes from Madrid but it’s when she arrived to this city that she start singing. In her concerts, accompanied by italian guitarist Davide Cristiani, poetry and popular music are melted together with songs of resistance.
Entrance by Donation
Friday 16 November, 20:30
Killing Cartisano
KILLING CARTISANO is Roberta Cartisano, Italian multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer and ses- sion-musician, and, marking a departure from Roberta’s previous recordings under her own name, Killing Cartisano is also Roberta’s new incarnation.
Influenced by psychedelic folk-rock, orchestral pop, cinematic funk and trip hop, her last album L’ultimo Cuore – The Last Heart, received rave reviews in her native Italy, where she was called ‘a pioneer of visiona- ry sound’. Her original song-writing is highly personal and vivid, encapsulating the term ‘emotional rock’.
On October 2018 KC has released her new single. Called ‘Sky Stolen’ the single follows hot on the heels of ‘The Drunk Man’ and ‘Let Me Go’ tracks, and is a preview to her forthcoming new album, Killing Cartisano Vol.1 to be released on 9 November.
On May 2018, leading up to the forthcoming album release, some tracks have been unleashed into the wild world: ‘The Drunk Man’ video was premiered on Folk Radio UK, ‘ Sky Stolen’ video was premiered on
Clash, ’Let Me Go’ was premiered on Backseat Mafia and its video appeared on Americana UK, while the track was broadcast on BBC Radio London.
KC produces and arranges her soundscapes at her own Broken Toys Studio. In support of her last album she embarked on a long tour, taking in more than 100 shows. As a songwriter session-musician (bass, piano, syn- th) and producer she has shared the stage with musicians such as Hugo Race (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds), Marta Collica (John Parish Band), Enrico Gabrielli (P.J. Harvey) and more.
‘It’s the ‘Frisco energy of an old, short-on-melatonin, rock-girl from Southern Europe’ says Cartisano.
A hook-laden hypnotic West Coast psychedelic vibe that just sucks you in’ – FOLK RADIO UK
‘Vivid, taut, highly emotive songwriting’ – CLASH MUSIC UK
‘It’s the ‘Frisco energy of an old, short-on-melatonin, rock-girl from Southern Europe’ says Cartisano.
www.killingcartisano.com
Friday 9 November, 20:30
Daydreams By Night
with Ramon Martensen
Remember those nights before going to sleep? When one of your parents or family members came to fuel your dreams with a beautiful fairy tale? Ramon Martensen brings back those times.
By creating an intimate setting where you can rest and calm down after a stressful day, he invites you to his inner world, where anything is possible and magic is all around. He lets the objects you bring inspire him to create stories on the spot, that only exist in that moment in time. Sometimes sweet, sometimes dark and at other moments funny or full of emotion, but always with a touch of magic. Day dream along and recapture some of your childhood wonder and inspiration.
AstaroTheatro October 2018
Friday 13 and Saturday 19 October, 20:30
On the Harmful Effects of Tobacco
by Anton Chekhov
1902, The Harmful Effects of Tobacco.
This is the final of the six different versions of the play from 1886 to 1902 which illustrates the transformation in Chekhov’s approach to the revelation of character on stage. Older version was designed to amuse the audience with solely external comic effects. Now, the emphasis has entirely changed and replaced by a subtle psychological analysis of the inner man.
Who is this man? Who is Ivan Ivanovich Nyukhin?
A dramatic monologue which depends on inner rather than outer action of the actor. 2018, Chekhov raises the mirror in front of modern people “have a look at yourselves and see how bad and dull your lives are…Why won’t you do something to change it?”. AstaroTheatro presents the monologue of Chekhov trying to bridge the mystic world of a man and his real down to earth life.
Without being aware we are all preparing for something “big” to come, what might be that? Will it lead us to catharsis?
With Roberto Bacchilega
Staged by Vasiliki Koutrouli
Pictures by Cenk Dövyap
Entrance by donation
Sunday 7 October, 17:00 (matinee)
The Volcanoes
A Philosophical Performance
“The Volcanoes” are current Odysseus’s who are wandering around, displaced and destroyed. They are souls who are “carrying” the confusion, the illusions and the chaos of humanity… they are down there, feeling the cutoff of the true soul.
“The Volcanoes” is a philosophical performance which attempts to connect the “broken” parts of cosmos. Illusions, blindness and chaos are the “broken parts” that keep the humanity in darkness. They would like to bring back the light, to restore…to reconnect…who is ready to take this “journey”?
Stage composition: Alli Mana ǀ Poetry Performance and Theatre Group
Preparation and Stage Direction: Vasiliki Koutrouli
Text composition: Alli Mana ǀ Poetry Performance and Theatre Group
Performers: Roberto Bacchilega, Arif Murat Gür, Vasiliki Koutrouli, Silvia Terribili
Music composition | impro | on stage: Renato Ferreira
Photo credits: Tatjana Todorovic
Video credits: Melanja Palitta | BalansLaB
“The Volcanoes” performance is inspired and initiated by a theatre play by Arif Murat Gür”
An AstaroTheatro and Alli Mana ǀ Poetry Performance and Theatre production
Saturday 30 September, 20:30
ACU/The Barricade, Voorstraat 71 Utrecht
Marx is Back at The Barricade
Marx is Back (A Play on History)
AstaroTheatro presents a monologue by Howard Zinn adapted and performed by Roberto Bacchilega
Karl Marx has had enough of seeing his revolution taken over by opportunists organizing each time a new priesthood and a new hierarchy, with excommunications and indexes, with inquisitions and firing squads.
He is disgusted by media declaring him dead again and again. Karl Marx is back to remind us that his ideas are more alive than ever. He revisits memories of his courageous life and revolutionary theories. We learn about his family, his struggles and the boils on his arse.