The Wall

A tale about man and nature

I stick out my hand; I am perplexed

Slippery cold resistance in a place

Where nothing exists but air

An apocalyptic disaster overwhelms a woman in the hills. An invisible wall separates her from the rest of the world. In the fraction of a moment her existence has been brought back to the fundamental need of survival. Slowly she realizes she is the sole survivor. Her journey to discover this new world order starts.

The Wall is a visual performance about the primal power essential to survival. Life on the hill is both dark and daunting, mild and sweet. Together with a few animals, she’s getting better and better in holding her life together. Eventually, she’s creating a new world with renewed values and a new feel to life.

The Wall is performed by Harriet Stroet under direction of Ulrike Quade, written by Hannah van Wieringen, inspired by Marlen Haushofer’s novel The Wall (1963). In this visual performance the puppets are creating the memory of survival.

De Wand

,,A continuous re-defining of the borders of reality. Beautiful, with looming sounds by Strijbos & Van Rijswijk. A show that takes you into a very special world.’’

★★★★ Theaterkrant (Kester Freriks)

,,The animals are puppets. Stroet makes them come alive, soms multiple at a time, with amazing skill (…) She alone is literally pulling the strings. A beautiful way to perform loneliness.’’

★★★ NRC (Joke Beekmans)

,,The Wall will blow you away (…) In the woords, actress Harriet Stroet takes you into this terrifying play. Througb headphones, the audience hears her sinister words and the dark soundscapes.’’

Dagblad van het Noorden (Kirsten van Santen) – Oerol

,,In the sinister The Wall, actress Harriet Stroet embodies a woman who is suddenly confronted with a border between her and the destructive world (…) Half-dead animals are appearing as puppets with surrealistic features (…) magically performed at the border between life and death.”

★★★★ Volkskrant (Annette Embrechts) – Oerol

Credits

Director: Ulrike Quade
Concept and play: Harriet Stroet
Script: Hannah van Wieringen (adaptation of novel The Wall by Marlen Hausofer)
Composition: Strijbos & Van Rijswijk
Assistant director: Jansje Meijman
Dramaturgy: Thomas Lamers
Lighting & Set Design: Floriaan Ganzevoort
Costume Design: Jacqueline Steijlen
Puppet Design: Matt Jackson and Isabel Alonso Pola
Puppet Design intern: Pluck Venema
Technician: Niels Runderkamp, Richard Bron and Lucas de Groen
Publicity design: Paulina Matusiak en Eddy Wenting
Performance photography: Sanne Peper

With the support of: Gemeente Amsterdam, Lira Fonds, Fonds Podiumkunsten / Performing Arts Fund NL