Orkater | Malou Gorter, Manoushka Zeegelaar Breeveld
Peggy has been looking for them for a long time: the names and stories of her ancestors. Centuries of colonialism and slavery have erased them. Whether she will ever find the names is uncertain. Maartje has an extensive family tree with names, surnames and portraits. Her ancestors had a share in a plantation, but this was not a topic of conversation in her family until now.
In the commemorative year 2023, 150 years after the 'ending' of slavery, Manoushka Zeegelaar Breeveld and Malou Gorter take on the roles of Maartje Duin and Peggy Bouva – and their relatives – in order to get a grip on the shared colonial history and everything that has resulted from it.
Their meeting is the start of…
Peggy has been looking for them for a long time: the names and stories of her ancestors. Centuries of colonialism and slavery have erased them. Whether she will ever find the names is uncertain. Maartje has an extensive family tree with names, surnames and portraits. Her ancestors had a share in a plantation, but this was not a topic of conversation in her family until now.
In the commemorative year 2023, 150 years after the 'ending' of slavery, Manoushka Zeegelaar Breeveld and Malou Gorter take on the roles of Maartje Duin and Peggy Bouva – and their relatives – in order to get a grip on the shared colonial history and everything that has resulted from it.
Their meeting is the start of a quest in which they mirror, confront and question each other. Together they go back to a shared past, to the Tout Lui Faut plantation in Suriname, the place that connects their ancestors. It is becoming increasingly clear how the historical inequality between women continues to affect the present. The actresses Manoushka and Malou interpret all of the characters and perspectives, but in the end they too can only reveal themselves and speak out to each other.
The live music, which is both exuberant and introverted, makes the past tangible, expresses stories for which there are no words yet and emerges when the conversation falls silent.
Theater version of the Keti Koti Table - Orkater in collaboration with the Keti Koti Table Foundation
Orkater and the Keti Koti Table Foundation are offering fifty people the opportunity to participate in a theater version of the Keti Koti Tafel, prior to the performance. Experience for yourself how a personal exchange between white people and people of color allows you to gain meaningful insights about the traces of the slavery past and how this is still felt in the present. A conversation accompanied by light snacks and age-old songs and rituals, which also play an important role in the performance.
The Keti Koti Tafel is a tradition that has brought more than 35,000 Dutch people (50% white, 50% of color) into conversation since 2012. An equal number of white and black participants participate in a Keti Koti Tafel to reflect on the modern-day consequences of the Dutch slavery past and how to deal with it, guided through structured dialogue. During the tafel, there is a meal, rituals, mourning and liberation songs, and participants have one-on-one conversations using a specially developed dialogue method.
The Keti Koti Tafel consists of a dialogue table inspired by the theme of the performance and lasts about 40 minutes. Because an equal distribution of white people and people of color is a precondition for the Keti Koti Tafel, when buying tickets, you will be asked what race you primarily identify with (white or black).
- More information & tickets for the Keti Koti Tafel
- With free pre-show introduction at 7:30 pm
