Het Zwarte Schaap: What Fuels Your Fire?

Featuring spoken word artists Lev Avitan, Rosabelle Illes and Kylie Lyandra, musically accompanied by Djuwa Mroivili. Host: Sophia Blyden.

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Information

Date and time Saturday 25 January 2025 20:15 tot 21:05 uur
Location Theater aan het Spui - Zaal 2
Price All up to 30 years 15,-
Regular 35,-
Ooievaarspas 15,-
DenHaagPas 32,50.

Writers Unlimited was not the only one celebrating an anniversary in 2025: Het Zwarte Schaap, The Hague's spoken word and spoken literature platform was celebrating its fifth anniversary: a safe meeting place and community for writers and their stories.

Het Zwarte Schaap opened the Saturday Night Unlimited programme in Zaal 2 of Theater aan het Spui with a special festival line-up. Performing in What Fuels Your Fire? are philosopher and spoken word artist Lev Avitan, writer and poet Rosabelle Illes and young spoken word talent Kylie Lyandra. Their readings were musically accompanied on piano by Djuwa Mroivili. In conversation with moderator Sophia Blyden, they answered what drives them to take the stage again and again, to constantly seek out people who listen to their words.

Rosabelle Illes, writer and spoken word artist from Aruba, tries to grasp the intangible and incomprehensible in her work. In her readings, she occasionally collaborates with musicians.

Djuwa Mroivili is a Comorian-Dutch multidisciplinary artist. Although trained as a classical pianist, she also experiments with other formats of performance in which music plays a role.

Lev Avitan is a word artist, philosopher and theatre maker. His work is characterised by vulnerable self-reflection and social engagement. His spoken word film Mijn moeder wil niet meer leven (My mother doesn't want to live anymore, 2024) can be seen on NPO START. With Nabil Tkhidousset, he played 7sheb 3lik, a stage performance on fatherhood and trauma transmission, in autumn 2024. Spring 2025, he will publish a poetic philosophy book.

Kylie Lyandra is a young spoken word artist and medical student who uses her words to discuss important issues. She finds comfort and strength in writing and its vulnerability. In 2022, she will start her spoken word journey. From her depression and love to growing up as a black girl, she brings it to the stage.

Sophia Blyden, moderator of What Fuels Your Fire?, is a poet, programme maker and studied Modern Dutch Literature in Leiden. In her prose and poetry, she explores themes such as loneliness, power relations and the boundary between fact and fiction. She also likes to be inspired by fairy tales, myths and pop culture. Her debut collection Dobberen was published in 2024.

Het Zwarte Schaap: What Fuels Your Fire? was curated for Writers Unlimited Festival 2025 by Daniëlle Zawadi.

Line-up

Lev Avitan

(Arnhem, 1996) is a writer, public thinker, political philosopher and spoken word artist. From sharp and critical angles, he manages to put his own life experiences into words and connect them to social debates. Together with Nabil Tkhidousset, he hosts the podcast Echtemannentakkies, in which themes are made discussable that are usually perceived as taboo among (bicultural) young men. Their theatre show 7sheb 3lik: rekenen op jou created at Theatre Bellevue in 2024 was an extension of their podcast. It goes back to the basis of their friendship: philosophical conversations, confronting each other, laughing together and eating chicken. Avitan's spoken word film Mijn moeder wil niet meer leven (My mother does not want to live anymore, 2024) is a production of Rotterdam-based film and media collective Rauwkost i.c.w. Dutch broadcaster HUMAN and can be seen on NPO Start.
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Rosabelle Illes

(Aruba, 1987) is an artist, writer, and performer. She has authored three collections of poetry and short stories and co-authored the multilingual children’s book Hearty. Her work has been published in international journals, and she has performed at literary festivals worldwide, including Colombia, Taiwan, The Netherlands, and New York City. Rosabelle’s art often explores personal enigmas, with meditation revealing insights that manifest as poetry. She holds a PhD in Psychology from Leiden University and is an assistant professor at the University of Aruba. Her upcoming book, Penmanship (2025), blends her passions for psychology and poetry, celebrating the written word in its purest form. Featuring handwritten pieces, the book sparks a conversation about the scientifically proven benefits of handwriting and showcases how poetry can transcend traditional confines of the page to be heard, seen, and worn.
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Djuwa Mroivili

(Amsterdam, 1998) is a Comorese-Dutch multidisciplinary artist, afro-hair inspirer, fangirl, curator and researcher. Although trained as a classical pianist, and concerts are part of her working practice (both solo and in collaboration with others), she also experiments with other formats of performance in which music plays a role. The performances she develops are often socially critical; on stage, Mroivili then sets herself up as a storyteller, using music, words, image and body to tell her stories. Mroivili has a great love for works by Black composers from the first half of the 20th century in the US, and also regularly performs their works. About her activism and artistic practice, filmmaker Naomi White made the short NTR documentary Als ik zelf de zon ben (If I Am the Sun Myself, 2023, viewable via 2Doc). 2024 saw the release of Mroivili's debut album Adoration, which she recorded with double bass player James Oesi.
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Kylie Lyandra

(Rotterdam, 2004) is a young spoken word artist and medical student who wants to use her words to discuss important issues. She finds comfort and strength in writing and in its vulnerability, and decided to embark on her spoken word journey in 2022. Motivated by the importance of her words, she jumps from place to place to recite. From her depression and love, to growing up as a black girl: she brings it to the stage. Kylie was one of the eight finalists of the NK Poetry Slam 2023 (Netherlands' championship Poetry Slam).
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Sophia Blyden

(The Netherlands, 1993) is a writer, poet, curator at Oerol and Mensen Zeggen Dingen, and editor of literary magazine Tirade. Her prose and poetry explore themes such as loneliness, power relationships, and her Caribbean roots. She has presented her poetry at a variety of Dutch literary events and publications. In her debut collection Dobberen (2024), the development from girl to woman is central to various storylines. How much control do you have over your body, boundaries and future?

Go to the website of Sophia Blyden
Instagram: @mrspillybean
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