May 24, 2023
Erfgoedparade, interview with theater maker Erris van Ginkel
Erris van Ginkel, theater maker, is working on a production for the Central Market Hall in Amsterdam.
Text, Anka van Voorthuijsen.
Erris van Ginkel, theater maker, is working on a production for the Central Market Hall in Amsterdam. He wants to bring locations to life with his performances, says theater maker Erris van Ginkel. “So that visitors better understand where they are, what the essence of a place is, was, or can become.”
This summer (every weekend in July and August), he will do this in the Central Market Hall in Amsterdam. Van Ginkel says, “An incredible place. I used to live nearby. It was an impenetrable fortress. You had no idea what happened there in the past, and you could never enter the premises.” Of course, you can simply guide visitors and tell stories, but he believes that theater adds value here, that the place truly comes alive.
The exact details of what will happen are not yet fixed, but there will be theater, music, dance, projections, and stories. A ‘market master’ will guide you through the hall. The audience will be taken to the immense hall in a train. “Think of a series of mini-performances, for example, in the place where bananas were washed, or where traders drank coffee. When you show such a story in the authentic location, it’s already an event, and you’re already ahead by 2-0.” The underlying idea of the production is to let visitors experience the role the Market Hall – and the food offered there – played in the transformation of Amsterdam into a multicultural community.
Many stories about the market hall have already been collected in recent years by employees of BOEi. “That is fantastic material that I will combine and adapt to capture the essence. I will translate those stories and photos into theater so that the emotions can be experienced.” He expects it to be a fantastic family outing: “but of course, it will also be interesting for local residents or former employees of the Market Hall.”
He hopes that everything will come together at this unique and historic location with this production. “In terms of content and emotion. This place will once again become relevant in the story of the city. People will understand better where they are and what happened here in the past. We will bring the market back to life. We will immerse visitors in what used to be here.”