The Truth Commission Netherlands
Is it a performance, a theatrical production or a real truth commission? The terms don't matter. Come and see for yourself.
With the first ever Truth Commission in the Netherlands, the Flemish theater company Action Zoo Humain calls attention to the underexposed, colonial legacy of the human zoo. Until deep into the 20th century, the Netherlands too exhibited thousands of men, women and children as "exotic," "wild" and "primitive" in so-called 'human zoos'. Think, for example, of the Surinamese and Indonesians exhibited at the World Exhibition in Amsterdam (1883), the Indian Exhibition in Arnhem (1928) and the Senegalese village at the Nenijto in Rotterdam (1928).
Does the human zoo still influence social thinking today? Aren't the ethnic profiling by the police, the benefits scandal at the IRS, as well as the "innocent" sharing of footage on social media of that "exotic" travel, examples of this?
Come and see for yourself during this unique and one-of-a-kind site-specific performance. Prime Minister Mark Rutte and King Willem-Alexander recently apologized for the Netherlands' slavery past. The Truth Commission picks up on that and gets to work on what might follow after the famous comma. Put yourself in the problematic curiosity of the visitors, the experiences of the peoples on display and the colonial propaganda machine of the organizers.
Based on South Africa's "Truth and Reconciliation Commission" witnesses speak out in word, visuals and movement. Former politician Kathleen Ferrier and Mpho Tutu van Furth, daughter of the late South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, lead the hearing as chairpersons.
Press
De Lage Landen - Review 24.11.2023
"Tussen het gekrakeel van de commissieleden en de ontroerende danssolo’s van de performers komt naar het einde van de voorstelling misschien wel de krachtigste scène."
Gelderlander - Article 19.10.2023
"Mensen als exotische attractie tentoongesteld in een zoo; zo lang geleden is dat helemaal nog niet (...) De pijnlijke bladzijde uit onze geschiedenis verbleekte, maar de invloed van Human Zoo's op onze maatschappij is nog voelbaar."
De Theaterkrant - Review 6.10.2023
"De informatie die je als toeschouwer te horen en te zien krijgt is afwisselend schrijnend, onthutsend, pijnlijk, woede en schaamte opwekkend. Gelukkig wordt er ook gewerkt met humor om het geheel verteerbaarder te maken. (...) De voorstelling houdt spiegels voor en voelt regelmatig ongemakkelijk. Hulde voor maker Chokri Ben Chikha want dat is hoognodig."
NRC - Report 27.09.2023
"Het gaat erom verschillende waarheden en perspectieven met elkaar in aanvaring te laten komen." - Chokri Ben Chikha, regisseur De Waarheidscommissie
Credits
Concept/direction Chokri Ben Chikha
Project manager/dramaturgy Sietske de Vries
Production manager Lique van Gerven
Script Erik-Ward Geerlings, Sharona Maguette Diop
With and by Kathleen Ferrier, Mpho Tutu van Furth, Bert Sliggers, Chantal Loïal, Iris Tjoa, Mareille Labohm, Fouad Mourigh, Moussa Ndiaye, Izah Hankammer, Tamar Niamut, Anis de Jong, Mavis Carrilho, Nienke Nasserian, Wensley Piqué, David Prins, Zouzou Ben Chikha
Music Seppe Salomé
Photography Kurt Van Der Elst
Film Sven Peetoom, Korrel
Website/socials Robin Laurens, Kirsten Lipman, Oya Latifa
Press Ronald de Groot
Production Action Zoo Humain
Coproduction PERPODIUM, DEGASTEN, Theater Rotterdam, deBuren, Internationaal Theater Amsterdam, Musis & Stadstheater Arnhem, de Brakke Grond
Supported by Bijlmer Parktheater, IMPACT, Theater Zuidplein, NTGent, Vlaamse Overheid, Provinciehuis Arnhem, Waalse Kerk, Debatcentrum Arminius, Fonds 21, Fonds voor Cultuurparticipatie, Fonds Podiumkunsten, Vriendenloterijfonds, Fonds ZOZ
This performance was made possible with the support of the Belgian Federal Government's Taxshelter through uFund.