Night - 14+
A backstage play with donkey-heads, inflated egos and falling light
Welcome backstage! In Night you get a peek behind the scenes of the theatre world. Night is a performance about rehearsals with lots of coffee, wild parties and aggressive media. But mainly it's a story about blown up egos. Friends become enemies, tough boys get paranoia and dominant mothers go nuts. The audience swings back and forth between the real world and the world of fantasies and obsessions. What starts with innocent imagination becomes an absurd nightmare. A performance which starts as a Midsummer Night's Dream and ends in Macbeth. Moniek Merkx mixes these two Shakespeare classics into a new play.
Moniek Merkx remixes two Shakespeare classics and creates her own story. Night will be Merkx's third play inspired by Shakespeare after Lear's daughters (2006, Theatergroep Max.) and The king is dead, long live the king (2002, Theater Artemis). The press about Lear's daughters: "Playing King Lear in one single hour sounds like tempting the Gods. But the Gods themselves should have respect for an intelligent performance like this. Moniek Merkx found the heart of the matter." (De Groene Amsterdammer). "Ingenious, hilarious" (NRC). "Of exceptional class." (Volkskrant).
Welcome backstage! In Night you get a peek behind the scenes of the theatre world. Night is a performance about rehearsals with lots of coffee, wild parties and aggressive media. But mainly it's a story about blown up egos. Friends become enemies, tough boys get paranoia and dominant mothers go nuts. The audience swings back and forth between the real world and the world of fantasies and obsessions. What starts with innocent imagination becomes an absurd nightmare. A performance which starts as a Midsummer Night's Dream and ends in Macbeth. Moniek Merkx mixes these two Shakespeare classics into a new play.
Moniek Merkx remixes two Shakespeare classics and creates her own story. Night will be Merkx's third play inspired by Shakespeare after Lear's daughters (2006, Theatergroep Max.) and The king is dead, long live the king (2002, Theater Artemis). The press about Lear's daughters: "Playing King Lear in one single hour sounds like tempting the Gods. But the Gods themselves should have respect for an intelligent performance like this. Moniek Merkx found the heart of the matter." (De Groene Amsterdammer). "Ingenious, hilarious" (NRC). "Of exceptional class." (Volkskrant).
Moniek Merkx about Night
"Shakespearian drama tends to have plays within plays. This made me think about what would happen if the main characters are actors in a play ending up in another one. The story makes a fool of the actors. One of the best things about working for children and youth is creating new plays out of existing texts, because they have no awareness of tradition. You don't have to make another interpretation of a well-known play. At the same time I like to work with Shakespeare's texts. His language, his storylines, it's a treat. His work is incredibly rich. In every play there are hundreds of different paths to follow. He encourages you to associate freely."
"Shakespearian drama tends to have plays within plays. This made me think about what would happen if the main characters are actors in a play ending up in another one. The story makes a fool of the actors. One of the best things about working for children and youth is creating new plays out of existing texts, because they have no awareness of tradition. You don't have to make another interpretation of a well-known play. At the same time I like to work with Shakespeare's texts. His language, his storylines, it's a treat. His work is incredibly rich. In every play there are hundreds of different paths to follow. He encourages you to associate freely."
Press about Night
"Alive, refreshing, sparkling edge-of-your-seat theater" (Noord-Hollands Dagblad)
“Well balanced between humor and sarcasm" (Cultuurbewust)
"A fresh mix of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and Macbeth" (Onstage)
"A very appropriate and entertaining evening!" (Toneelblog)
"Alive, refreshing, sparkling edge-of-your-seat theater" (Noord-Hollands Dagblad)
“Well balanced between humor and sarcasm" (Cultuurbewust)
"A fresh mix of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and Macbeth" (Onstage)
"A very appropriate and entertaining evening!" (Toneelblog)
Cast and creatives
Idea, direction, text Moniek Merkx
Performance Tibor Lukasz, Manon Nieuweboer, Raymi Sambo and others
Music Joop van Brakel
Set design Marianne Burger
Costume design Marike Kamphuis
Lighting design Gé Wegman Tour January – March 2011
Age 14 years and up
Idea, direction, text Moniek Merkx
Performance Tibor Lukasz, Manon Nieuweboer, Raymi Sambo and others
Music Joop van Brakel
Set design Marianne Burger
Costume design Marike Kamphuis
Lighting design Gé Wegman Tour January – March 2011
Age 14 years and up
