Publication details
De positie van de hedendaagse autonome toneelschrijver in Nederland en Vlaanderen
| Title in English | The Position of Contemporary Autonomous Drama Writers in the Netherlands and Flanders |
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| Authors | |
| Year of publication | 2015 |
| Type | Chapter of a book |
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| Citation | |
| Description | In a country like the Netherlands where directors predominate, it is in-creasingly difficult to be a playwright. Theatres face a shortfall of funds caused by major cuts in the culture sector, which is one of the reasons why theatres are forced to save money on writers. This brings about a certain limitation; theatres play it safe and choose famous authors. Shakespeare on the poster attracts more attention than an unknown novice playwright, and Sophocles 'doesn't send an invoice'. Moreover, in the Netherlands and Flanders, playwrights have to compete fiercely against writing theatre directors. Therefore, it is extremely difficult for an autonomous playwright to break through. Theatres are also often afraid to risk cooperating with an aspiring writer. In my contribution, I discuss the position of autonomous playwrights in the Netherlands and in Flanders. I describe the situation in these two countries and major cultural objections or problems encountered by playwrights. I analyse the situation in both countries based on outcomes of the existing research and articles in the media. Based on De Toneelschrijfprijs, a prize for the best Dutch-written theatrical play awarded annually by De Nederlandse Taalunie, I discuss the specific situation of autonomous playwrights. In her plea for independent theatre, Lot Vekemans said: "We all know that the playwright does not exist, even more so in the Dutch-speaking world." Is the state of affairs concerning playwrights really so tragic in the Low Countries? What is the current situation of the autonomous playwright landscape and what is the outlook for the future? |