Do we really dare to question our prejudices, or have we become too politically correct? What can we learn from the silent voice?

Yara’s Wedding is an interdisciplinary (almost) musical directed by Guy Weizman, with lyrics by Antigone Akgün, Rasit Elibol, Mohamedou Ould Slahi Houbeini and Rik van den Bos. Together, this unique group of writers, inspired by the complex relationship between the ‘East’ and the ‘West’, wrote a performance about framing the other based on origin, colour, orientation, social status and cultural conflicts. The result is a performance that is about how being privileged determines your view. About how being poor determines your view. About how thinking that you are entitled to something determines your view. And about the major consequences these uncomfortable truths can have.

Music obviously plays a major role in this (almost) musical. To capture the relationship between ‘East’ and ‘West’ in music as well, musicians from Asko|Schönberg and Slagwerk Den Haag collaborate intensively for Yara’s Wedding with Loradeniz and singer Karima El Fillali, who plays the role of Yara. Both live and create at the crossroads of cultures. Born in Istanbul and living in Amsterdam, Loradeniz is a composer, singer and producer of electronic music. Karima is a Dutch-Moroccan who blends her great interest in and knowledge of traditional Arabic music in her own work in beautiful ways.

SPOILER ALERT
Yara, Greta, Sebastian and Tony are childhood friends. They grew up in the same neighbourhood and spent long, rainy summers together. They were inseparable until that night. The night the mansion burned down. That night, it suddenly turns out that each member of the group of friends is on the other side of a huge chasm, and the illusion of who they thought they were together bursts like a soap bubble.

Flash forward to 12 years later: Yara marries Sebastian. As part of the celebrations, (old) friends and family go on a trip. Far removed from their familiar surroundings, new bonds are forged and old conflicts come to light. In the merry-go-round of confrontations, encounters, and situations at the wedding, everyone slowly gets so drunk and emotional that no one wants to go to bed until everything that needs to be said or done has been said or done.

About NITE
In a search for meaning in a rapidly changing world, NITE (National Interdisciplinary Theatre Ensemble) creates performances that are as spectacular and intertwined as the world itself. After SALAM, Brave New World 2.0, Before/After and The Underground, NITE is now performing Yara’s Wedding.

Yara’s Wedding is a co-production of NITE (Noord Nederlands Toneel, Club Guy & Roni, Slagwerk Den Haag and Asko|Schönberg) and Schauspiel Hannover.

Language no problem
In Yara’s Wedding, Dutch, German, Arabic and French are spoken. There are screens on stage on which you can always read Dutch and English surtitles.