The Netherlands on the Sofa: Marjolijn van Heemstra

A country goes to see the psychiatrist! The writer, theatre maker and actress plays the role of The Netherlands, between happiness and anxiety.

20180103124615 1

Information

Date and time Saturday 20 January 2018 20:00 tot 20:40 uur
Location Theater aan het Spui - Zaal 2

A country goes to see the doctor! The Netherlands feels fantastic. In 2017, it held sixth place on the list of the happiest countries in the world. Not too bad when you consider, for example, the quality of Dutch health care and education. Or the freedoms enjoyed by its population. On an individual level, the future looks rosy, to say the least.

At the same time, the Netherlands seems to have lost its way. The expectations of society as a whole seem much more sombre. There is growing unrest about the collective identity. The Netherlands is frightened of losing ist norms and values.

What's going on? Writer and theatre Artist Marjolijn van Heemsta, in the role of the Netherlands, interpreted these paradoxical feelings on psychiatrist Damiaan Denys' sofa.

Damiaan Denys

(1965) is a prominent psychiatrist, neuroscientist, writer and theatre actor. Born in Flanders, he works and lives in The Netherlands. He studied philosophy and medicine in Belgium, graduated in psychiatry from Utrecht University, and worked as head of anxiety disorders of UMC Utrecht. He is a professor at the University of Amsterdam and department head of psychiatry at AMC Amsterdam. Denys developed Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), a method to master compulsive thoughts. In his book Angstparadox (Anxiety Paradox, 2016) he states: "If there is a single word that holds the essence of the world in which we live now, of what guides us and of what holds us back, it is anxiety." Denys writes and acts in theatre monologues, among them Van angst naar vrijheid (From Anxiety to Freedom, 2016), which is "about the sense and nonsense of our contemporary culture of anxiety".
20181126112552 1

Marjolijn van Heemstra

(Amsterdam, 1981) - writer, poet, and journalist – gained attention in 2009 with her first poetry collection Als Mozes had doorgevraagd. In 2012, her debut novel De laatste Aedema was published. In her work, she explores how we can think differently about ourselves and the world. Since 2019, she has written about how space can help us see the Earth from a new perspective, in a.o. her essay Wat is ruimte waard. The theatre play based on this book, Maankoorts, premiered in June 2024. Since 2019, Van Heemstra has been a space correspondent at De Correspondent. She creates podcasts (including Sør, Stadsastronaut en Als geschiedenis in je opstaat) and recently conducted research on the value of the night. In 2025 she performs her stage play Observaties van een theaterrat.
20241104125819 1

Discover

20 May 2026

Get your 2027 tickets!

Get your Early Bird tickets for the big festival nights, Friday & Saturday Night Unlimited!