The Best of All Possible Worlds

In May 2010 an entire municipal theatre set out on a journey to the Netherlands. The team under Bochum’s general theatre director Anselm Weber spent four weeks at the Dutch music theatre ensemble Veenfabriek, headed by the Dutch director and musician Paul Koek. The theatres based their first production on Voltaire’s philosophical and satirical story "Candide" about the odyssey of a Westphalian schoolboy who travels the world as a hopeless optimist. The production examined the lives and coexistence of those who live in the Ruhr region today and are faced with economic crisis and structural change. The second joint project will be based on the "Three Sisters" by Anton Tschechow.

Theatres: Schauspielhaus Bochum and Veenfabriek, Leiden (Netherlands)

Artists / participants: Manuela Alphons, Reinout Bussemaker (NL), Anke Brouwer (NL), Dorothee Curio, Rik Elstgeest (NL), Jürgen Hartmann, Bo Koek (NL), Paul Koek (NL), Olaf Kröck, Raiko Küster, David Lammers (NL), Andreas Maier, Theun Mosk (NL), Veronika Nickl, Martijn Padding (NL), Will-Jan Pielage (NL), Eva Pieper, Roland Riebeling, Paul Slangen (NL), Yonina Spijker (NL), Joep van de Geest (NL), Ton van der Mer (NL), John van Oostrum (NL), Jutta Wachowiak, Anke Zillich and others

Schedule:
February 2010 – July 2012