The final of the Amsterdam Kleinkunst Festival is a long one. After a long pause, the jury delivered its verdict around half past eleven on Saturday evening. A significant part of the audience did not experience the three prizes being distributed.
Yes, the finale could be a bit more compact. The other two major cabaret festivals (Cameretten and Leids Cabaret Festival), which have a similar design, also succeed. This does not alter the fact that the 39e final of the Amsterdam Kleinkunst Festival was a fascinating one. In different ways, the three finalists explored how to deal with unpleasant events and depression in theatrical performances full of physical play.
After her appearance, jury winner Annica Muller hurled a large stack of paper into the air. “Hello children of the cosmos, welcome to chaos,” she said. Because yes, was there actually anything different than that? The world stage, nature, the universe, she summed up. And not to forget her own life: “I have the initials of four different people tattooed on this body, three of which I no longer speak to.”
Muller wanted to capture “life itself” in her performance. Sometimes this caused confusion, but it usually turned out to be a lot of fun at the same time. Something suddenly had to be done with a suitcase that had until then been on stage for unclear reasons, because yes, theater laws: objects had to be given meaning. The suitcase contents resulted in a disruptive act.
Muller could have offered the audience a little more guidance, but in the end she came to a beautiful conclusion: a plea for fully immersing yourself in the present. It is the only way for Muller to escape from a confusing and sometimes very sad existence. The jury praised how “content and form coincided seamlessly.”
Daan Put won the audience award.
Photo Anne van Zantwijk
Audience Award for Daan Put
A lot also happened in a short time in Daan Put’s performance, which received the most audience votes. He offered a series of fast-paced and fun absurdism, so that for God’s sake he wouldn’t be stuck in his own depression. Just like that, a referendum was on the table about the layout of the garden of a certain Marjan, “who had bought a nice piece of land near Emmeloord.” Put encouraged the audience to choose the third option: “a mini kart track.” It remained unclear who Marjan was and why we were concerned with the design of her garden. Put shouted: “The only thing we know for sure is this: that there is the collective will for a mini karting track!” The jury ruled: “His humor is an emergency response to escape the pain. The scenes he chooses for this are infectious.”
Dorelia Schraven: clever and funny about different images of femininity.
Photo Anne van Zantwijk,
The third finalist, winner of the encouragement prize, also made an impression by packaging a heavy subject in a surprising way. Dorelia Schraven cleverly and funny depicted different images of femininity. In an impressive song she sang about a very unpleasant experience: “The yeses became quieter and quieter / but he didn’t hear no either.”
Just as the prizes were divided equally on the final evening, the final prize is also a joint win: a tour throughout the country.
