Programme
Dear audience,
It is fantastic to bring back the show Oscar after a successful performance series in 2022. And that with some new dancers and new circus performers in two theatres!
For me personally, it is extra special, because this is my farewell year and the last performance I make for Scapino. It is a very nice way for me to say goodbye, with a production that I love very much and that contains everything I stand for. It's a dream to be able to say goodbye like this.
Ed Wubbe
A tribute to Carré
As part of the 135th anniversary of Royal Theatre Carré in 2022, Ed Wubbe was asked to create an anniversary performance. For this, the choreographer drew inspiration from the colourful life of circus director Oscar Carré.
‘It is not a biopic,’ says Wubbe. 'Oscar has become a tribute to the person and to the theatre Carré. Oscar Carré was a circus director, a real horse man; when he was six, he already worked as a horse trainer in his father's circus. He wanted to take the circus to the next level - instead of being at fairs and in tents - so he had a real theatre built.'
That sounds simpler than it was. He raised the money for the construction, some 300,000 guilders, with the help of a bond loan but it took a lot of effort (and some trickery and deception) to get the municipality of Amsterdam to allow him to build a theatre. 'He actually had a visionary outlook, especially if you look at it from a contemporary perspective. A theatre for high and low art, that's what he wanted to make, a theatre for everyone, diverse and inclusive.'
Wubbe is happy that Blaudzun immediately said ‘yes’. 'He composed a number of new songs especially for the show and together we picked a number of songs from his repertoire. With his band, he plays all styles of music, from ballad to pop.
Oscar is one continuous performance in which circus, dance and live music merge into a magical mix, just like in TING! which was very successful in Carré a few years ago. ‘The circus continues where the dance ends and vice versa.’
Ed Wubbe
Ed Wubbe is one of the most versatile Dutch choreographers and a key figure in the Dutch dance world for many years. He has a unique talent for uniting different worlds and creating fluid transitions.
With his large thematic productions set to live music, he has created his own unique genre, a mix of art and artistic entertainment with compelling themes, fusing dance, music and other disciplines such as circus and opera. In the process, Wubbe pushes the boundaries of dance and creates a theatrical world with raw, vibrant and contemporary relevance.
Under Ed Wubbe's leadership, Scapino grew into a high-profile and innovative dance company. With Oscar, the artistic director bids farewell to our company after 30 years.
Blaudzun
Blaudzun is a singer, producer and songwriter who has made his mark on the Dutch pop landscape over the past decade with his cinematically arranged, emotionally sung songs.
Since the release of Seadrift Soundmachine in 2010, the band has been making a big impression with live shows in clubs and festivals across Europe. It has received many awards, including the 3voor12 Award for ‘Best Album of the Year 2012’, an Edison Award in 2013 for ‘Best Male Artist’ and a 3FM Award for ‘Best Alternative Act’.
On Oscar
About being on stage again with Oscar, he says: ‘In the show, dancers, circus performers and the music and band members melt together. Every day I am still reminded by visitors of the impact the show had on them. And honestly, the whole thing impressed the makers as much as the audience. What a wonderful prospect to play Oscar again in 2024'.
The music of Oscar
Singer and composer Johannes Sigmond, better known as Blaudzun, provides the music at Oscar. He is known for exploring and mixing the boundaries of different musical genres. 'My music is heavily melody-based, and in that sense really pop music, but a bit more raw. It is richly arranged, without a layer of lacquer over it.'
When Blaudzun was asked for Oscar in 2022, he was quite shocked for a moment, as he is not really a circus performer. 'With circus performers, oddly enough, the first thing I had to think of was a clown. And I'm a bit scared of clowns,' he admits, laughing. But Johannes didn't have to think for long. 'At the first rehearsal, I saw what Ed had come up with, which was so impressive. In little songs like Wolf's Behind The Glass, for instance, you can see how dance gave a charge to the music that I hadn't thought of myself.'
The chosen repertoire cuts across Blaudzun's oeuvre. It soon became clear that he was also open to re-arranging existing songs. And even to compose, especially for this show, new music. 'This gave the opportunity to seek adventure. Pop songs are characterised by certain laws. Also, they are actually too short for a full-length performance like this. In combination with dance, theatre and circus artists, the performance has thus become a collage of atmospheres with which we put Oscar Carré and the theatre itself on a pedestal.'
Blaudzun hopes visitors leave the theatre with a ‘wow feeling’. And that a week later they can still recall the atmosphere of the performance. That it occasionally comes back to them like a daydream, like certain films always stay with you. If that succeeds, we have created something beautiful.'
Live album
In honour of this performance series, Blaudzun will release the live album Oscar on CD and LP. The album will be available at the theatres on the performance dates, to order when purchasing tickets or to order via the button below.
The dancers of Oscar
Filip Wagrodzki
For dancer Filip Wagrodzki, dancing this performance series is very different. He takes over the tone-setting role from former Scapino dancer Mischa van Leeuwen as Oscar. A big responsibility to take on such a character role.
To make Oscar his own, Filip watched a lot of video footage of his predecessor, empathised with the history of the person Oscar Carré and then gave it the emotion of himself. His costume, boots and moustache help him transform into circus director Oscar.
Ellen Landa
Scapino coryfee Bonnie Doets bid farewell to the stage with the 2022 performance series Oscar. Her role, as Oscar's wives, will be played by Ellen Landa this year.
For Ellen, it is very special to be able to perform this role in her own way. She feels particularly supported and sees it as an enormous luxury to be guided by her predecessor Bonnie as a ballet master. This allows her to shape the role even better and make it her own.
The circus artists
When Oscar was created in 2022, a full class of students at Codarts Circus Arts was involved in the production.
These performers have since graduated and travel the world as freelance circus artists. Four of the original performers will also participate in Oscar in 2024. In addition, four new circus artists were recruited, again including one talented student at Codarts: Jon Owino Ochieng.
-
Arvi Yrjölä
Acro dance -
Charlie Hession
Partner acrobate -
Erin Burley
Partner acrobate -
Fidel Rott
Object manipulation -
Joe Baker
Aerial rope -
Jon Owino Ochieng
Globe acrobate -
Luise Hoffmann
Trapeze -
Wilko Schutz
Partner acrobate
Creatives
Direction / choreography
Ed Wubbe
with the dancers and circus artists
Music
Blaudzun
Stage design
Ed Wubbe
Costume design
Pamela Homoet
Light design
Xavier Spruit Bleeker
Credits
Ballet masters
Débora Soto
Bonnie Doets
Repetitor/circus choreography assistant
Hanna Laber
Supervising circus disciplines/rigging
Nikolay Pyasta
Band
Blaudzun (lead singer, guitar)
Jakob Sigmond (guitar, lap steel, backing vocals)
Tom Swart (piano, accordion)
Otto de Jong/Simon Levi (drums, percussion)
Danny van Tiggele (bass, guitar)
Tamara van Esch (synths, keys, backing vocals, percussion)
Costume atelier
Petra Finke
Marian Hoefnagels
Masha Agerbeek
Mara Wap (dresser)
Aleid Verhaart (dresser)
Gretha Geerds (dresser)
Production
Manon Paap
Tjeu Schellekens
Technical production
Guido Verschoor
Technique
Bjørn van Doesburg (chief technician)
Tommy Everts (light)
Evert Achthoven (transport, inspicient)
Behrooz Vasseghi (volgspot, inspicient)
Technique Blaudzun
Roman Reijs
Martijn Jurjus
Kim Aernoud
Decor
Hét Decoratelier, Martin Determann
With special thanks
Codarts Circus Arts
Anna Beentjes, head of Circus Arts
Jan Daems, coordinator
Theater aan de Schie (Rob Roos, Seda van der Spek, Noud Roos, Marion Schellevis, Zoë Spaan, Brechje ten Ascher)
Scène images
Bart Grietens (2024)
Hans Gerritsen (2022)
Campaign visual
Stef Nagel
Artwork
René Kapel
Portrait images
Khalid Amakran
Bryndis Brynjólfsdóttir
Grantees
Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur & Wetenschap
Gemeente Rotterdam
Sponsors
Brighter World
STOER
Preferred suppliers
De Jong Tours
Peitsman licht & geluid BV
Winter Audio Service
Wonderland & Geschikt
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