Festival summer season begins in Netherlands
Posted : Tue, 10 Jun 2008 03:09:01 GMT
Amsterdam- Many years ago, Dutch festivals were visited mainly by locals, but today, many tourists flock to the Netherlands as soon as the summer begins to attend one or more of its many cultural festivals. The month of June marks the beginning of one of the most popular festivals - the Oerol festival for experimental theatre from June 13 to June 22 on the island of Terschelling in the northern Netherlands.
For one week, the island transforms into a venue for theatre and music.
Many of the performances are held outdoors and often there is no stage or seats for the audience.
Instead, the street, beach or cafe becomes a stage and the actors mingle with onlookers and passersby.
In its early days, only young lovers of experimental theatre travelled to Terschelling to attend the festival. But today, it attracts a much broader audience, national and international, while the average age of the people attending has also gone up.
This year's theme is Yesterday's Island in which artists present their concepts of time.
The 10-day programme runs 24 hours a day, and apart from theatre and music performances also includes walks along the beach with artists such as US artist Robert Wilson.
The festival comprises more than 50 paid performances in venues and 10 others that are free of charge. There will also be performances in public areas spread across the island of Terschelling.
For more information: www.oerol.nl and www.festivals.nl
Source
