A theatre performance about poverty and inequality
In the music-theatre performance RONJA we meet Clara, Ronja’s mother. Clara has been trying to keep her head above the water financially for a couple of years now and be the best mother she can to Ronja. She tells us her story and shows us how it is to live below the poverty line. She tells us how big the impact is of the tone of the collection letters she’s been getting. She shows us the variety of activities and special benefits for poor people and she shares her questions and doubt about the school system Ronja is a part of.
Clara thinks she might have found a way out of all the misery and wants to share this with the audience.
Trough Clara we get an insight in the consequences for a single mom and her 11 year old daughter living in poverty.
Using personal stories and songs based on tens of interviews with people who are dealing with poverty on a daily bases we, together with the audience, try to find answers to questions like: what can we do to really solve the poverty problem? Isn’t poverty actually an extreme form of social and public inequality that we, as a society, silently keep intact?
The performance is part of the project OchArme; an artistic and journalistic project about poverty and inequality in The Netherlands and Flanders.
Project Credits
For this project Company New Heroes worked with Stichting Doen, KAAP, Theater aan Zee, Artistic Collective Barranja and Verkadefabriek.
Directed by: Isil Vos
Assistant Director: Mariella van Apeldoorn
Written by: Isil Vos en Koen Deca
Actors: Terri van Splunder, Koen Deca en Senna Yasmina Allaui
Music by: Koen Deca
Video: Oostblok Media
Final direction: Lucas De Man
Illustrations: Anne Caesar
Photography: INDIMAH
PR: Judy Lijdsman
Many thanks to: ‘t Lampeke, Het Sociaal Huis Oostende, CKG Kapoentje, Luc Deneffe and De Wissel, Klein Verhaal, Decenniumdoelen.be, Pascale Cockhuyt, De Antenne, Tamia, Welzijn Divers, Netwerk tegen armoede, Bente and everyone who took the time to answer our endless questiuons.
Co-production: Company New Heroes and Verkadefabriek