Category: Van Borsjt tot Pindakaas

  • Theatershows for schools

    As a playwright I started writing long shows for theater. And I still do as I’m currently working on a story about two sisters. But for the past three years I have written some scripts for educational shows for schools in the Dutch language region. These are some examples.

    Theatershow about migration, integration and identity

    Van Borsjt tot Pindkaas is the latest arrival. This music/theatershow is about migration, integration and identity. It’s about Eastern European culture, including Jewish influences.

    Van Borsjt tot Pindakaas comes in three versions:

    • For ages 9+: 40 minutes edition.
    • For ages 15+: 50 minutes edition.
    • For ages 15+: 75 minutes edition.

    More on this show.

    Raw Stoked

    Stoked is a funny mini-musical about a teenager, an unstoppable dream, and the wild ride that comes with it. A feel-good coming of age show for the whole family and all ages!

    Stoked is an English-language festival-show. The songs are currently being remastered for schools and theatres.

    Zij zagen Oorlog

    Six people make a decision with good intentions. Only to face the consequences. TikTok on a podium: six short stories that make you think in 60 minutes.

    A philosophical show given a 360-degree view of war.

    Zij zagen Oorlog

    • For ages 15+: 60 minutes, Dutch language.

    More on Zij zagen Oorlog.

  • A story about survival

    What makes someone Dutch?

    Can you be Dutch if you weren’t born in the Netherlands? If not, what are you then, if your country of birth no longer exists?

    Free in Amsterdam

    Ksenia was born in Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine, which was then part of the Soviet Union. Her father is Russian, from St. Petersburg; her mother is a Jewish Ukrainian. At the age of 17, Ksenia fled the Soviet Union. Through aid organizations, she ended up in Israel. From there, she traveled to Europe. In 1994, she arrived in Amsterdam after hitchhiking. There, she felt truly free.

    Heritage not to be discussed

    Years later she’s on national radio. She talks for an hour about her plays. Suddenly, the journalist confronts her with an identity she had deliberately forgotten. She’s startled and hears her grandmother in her mind urging her to deny it. That Jewish heritage was never discussed, not even in the Netherlands …

    Integrating Is harder than you think

    In this musical performance, Ksenia takes you on a journey from the Ukrainian beet soup borscht to bread with peanut butter by the North Sea. In a playful and humorous way, she sets out in search of her identity. The whole world has an opinion about her, but she herself is also feeling all sorts of things. On top of that, she wants to integrate. That turns out to be harder than expected. And learning Dutch isn’t exactly a walk in the park either. Ksenia loves the Netherlands, but is that enough to be Dutch? And does she even want that?

    Show made for schools, two versions:

    Age-indication: 9+

    • Language: Dutch, part of songs in Yiddish.
    • Duration: 40 minutes
    • Themes: identity, assimilation, integration, Eastern European culture, Jewish culture, Soviet-Union, antisemitism.

    Age-indication: 15+

    • Language: Dutch, part of songs in Yiddish.
    • Duration: 60-75 minutes
    • Themes: identity, assimilation, integration, Eastern European culture, Jewish culture, antisemitism, World War Two, Sovjet-Union.

    More on this show.