Yara's wedding | May 31, 2023

In the Philosophy Café we will try to bridge our differences by looking into our intercultural ways of communication. We will discuss the complications, bang our heads against problems and set up a vocabulary with which we can safely speak with each other. We do this with sessions that consist of a key note of the guest speakers, a table discussion and a short presentation of the outcomes of that discussion per table.

On this evening we have the German dramaturge Friederike Schubert of NITE and the Hannover Schauspiel. She will connect the discussion about intercultural communication to Edward Saïds Oriëntalism and Yara’s Wedding. The second guest is Cameroonian VU-teacher Pius Mosima, expert on bantu and intercultural philosophy. Final guest and host of the evening is Mexican political philosopher Patyt Reyes. All speakers will join the discussion tables. The night will be closed by Levi Majoor. Before the philosophy café opens people have the opportunity to dine at the place at 18.00 hours.

Moderator is Bran Remie.

The diaries of the unjust ex-convict Mohamedou Ould Slahi form the inspiration for the Hollywood-blockbuster The Mauritanian (with Jodie Foster, Tahar Rahim (who plays Mohamedou) and Benedict Cumberbatch). That very same Mohamedou Ould Slahi is also a writer for the performance Yara’s Wedding on 31th May in the Wilminktheater ánd the special guest on this movie night!

As said, Mohamedou will be present in Concordia when we see The Mauritanian. After the movie he will be ready to answer the questions that you have about him, his time in Guantanamo Bay and his current life in Groningen. 

Schedule:
19:30 hours: A short introduction of Mohamedou Ould Slahi and The Mauritanian
19.35 hours: The Mauritanian
21.45 hours: Q & A with Mohamedou Ould Slahi (30-45 minutes).

Sickhouse and Wilminktheater invite you to put on your best blue and rock the party at Sickhouse's top floor and balcony. Dance on house and techno music with Arabic vibes, drink your blue cocktails, visit the Blue Relax Room and become as blue as you can get.

With the Better Wear Blue Party, we rehearse for NITE’s Yara’s Wedding on 31th May in the Wilminktheater: it is a performance with a lot of people from different backgrounds. As the wedding party progresses, the more this diverse and inclusive group intermingles with one another. 

Two uniform elements tie everyone together: music and the color blue! 

We start at 22.00 o'clock. In our line-up we have among others NITE-DJ Echte Jannes. And while we celebrate our differences this night, you can expect to leave the party more blue that you entered it.

Finally, the wedding of Yara and Sebastian is there, right on the stage of the Wilminktheater. However, before the (blue) wedding party can begin Sebastian and Yara have to solve certain difficulties of their past: old friends who were involved in a shattering incident 10 years ago. This very wedding is the first time that all those ‘friends’ are back in one room. 

Is it possible to mend old wounds that have turned into unignorable scars? Can we overcome our differences? Or has history widened the distance created by these differences with others too much?

Yara is certain that the answer is ‘yes’ and she risks her own wedding in order to show her (old) friends and family that they too should say ‘yes’ to one another. 

We promise, after the performance no one feels like going to bed. A party is needed and there is one right around the corner in Update.

About Yara's wedding

Do we really dare to question our prejudices? Or have we become too politically correct for that? How do we move forward without losing each other? These are not the easiest questions that will be addressed in Yara's Wedding, by NITE and Schauspiel Hannover, Wednesday 31 May at the Wilminktheater.

Yara's Wedding is an interdisciplinary (almost) musical, directed by Guy Weizman, with lyrics by Antigone Akgün, Rik van den Bos, Rasit Elibol and Mohamedou Ould Slahi Houbeini.

Together, this special group of writers - inspired by Edward Said and his famous book Orientalism - wrote a new play about framing the other on the basis of origin, color, orientation, social status and cultural conflicts.

No confrontation is avoided in this very musical and lively performance with fifteen actors, dancers, singers and musicians from different backgrounds and nationalities.

In a search for meaning in a rapidly changing world, NITE (national interdisciplinary theater ensemble) creates performances that are as spectacular and intertwined as the world itself. Yara's Wedding is a co-production of NITE (Noord Nederlands Toneel, Club Guy & Roni, Slagwerk Den Haag and Asko Schönberg) and Schauspiel Hannover.

The Dutch premiere has convinced the critics. Especially the one from NRC, which handed out five ★★★★★ stars. 'Yara's Wedding is one of those performances where you walk out with ringing ears, a full heart and a spring in your stride'. Dagblad van het Noorden (four stars) writes 'Yara's Wedding by Guy Weizmans NITE is a moving and witty medicine against black and white thinking'.

Language no problem
Dutch, German, Arabic and French are spoken in Yara's Wedding with Dutch and English surtitles. There are screens on the stage on which you can always read the text in English or Dutch.

Please note: A stroboscope is used during the performance.

Hanover Allgemeine full of praise

“It is a colorful revue, a musical with excellent singers, great dancers, great live musicians who are often cleverly incorporated into the play and great actresses who tell a moving story.”

“Guy Weizman and his fantastic ensemble have created a total work of art. There is music, beautiful singing, dancing, beautiful costumes, and there is a gripping story.”

"The multilingualism of the production is not a problem - also because of the German and English surtitles - but an opportunity."

Credits

Concept: Guy Weizman
Cast: Karima El Fillali, Anja Herden, Sanne den Hartogh, Sarah Janneh, Nicolas Matthews, Bien de Moor, Igor Podsiadly, Katherina Sattler and Jésula Toussaint Visser
Director: Guy Weizman in collaboration with the cast
Choreography: Roni Haver
Composition: Loradeniz, Karima El Fillali
Dramaturgy and plot: Friederike Schubert
Live music: Jochem Braat, Karima El Fillali, Oriol Marès, Niels Meliefste