05 Aug

19:00

The Bookshop at ITA

Leidsekade 90, Amsterdam

As part of Pride, The Bookshop hosts an evening of two separate queer performances in Dutch: Harun Balci's 'From Turkey with Love' and Merel Severs & Jimmi Heijgelaar's 'Living in Silence for Too Long'.

A Quickie in The Bookshop: From Turkey with Love & Living in Silence for Too Long

More info & tickets

Please note: The language of this performance is Dutch.

During Pride, ITA is organising three different Quickies at The Bookshop. At each event, two queer artists will each present their own performance. The performances are separate from one another but will take place on the same evening.

From Turkey with Love

from Harun Balci

In this solo performance, Harun Balci constantly shifts between different characters and perspectives. Content and form merge in his performance: he moves fluidly between languages, roles, and identities, making code-switching not only a thematic element but also physically and rhythmically tangible.

The emotional landscape of the performance is carried by music from Guido Hoek, whose compositions and soundscapes make the inner tension, vulnerability, and sense of alienation audible and more intense. Music and performance flow seamlessly into one another.

The performance explores themes such as identity, (self-)love, biculturality, sexuality, and the need for safety within family and relationships. Within this tension, an intimate search for one’s own identity emerges, balancing between adaptation and the courage to remain true to oneself.

Living in Silence for Too Long

from Merel Severs & Jimmi Heijgelaar

In Living in Silence for Too Long, Jimmi Heijgelaar takes over the solo originally created by Merel Severs in 2021. For WorldPride, Severs reworks the performance for a new performer and, with that, for a new perspective. He carries her words, memories, and anger, while also adding his own desire: for freedom, masculinity, and a body that fully belongs to him.

Where Merel rebels, Jimmi longs. Where she draws boundaries, he wants to break through them. Their experiences intersect, yet also sharply diverge. Within this tension, they explore how ideas of masculinity and femininity shape the body, relationships, and the way we perceive ourselves.

The performance moves between text, physicality, and confrontation. With humour, vulnerability, and directness, Living in Silence for Too Long questions deeply rooted stereotypes, social expectations, and the space available to shape yourself beyond imposed roles.