Against the current
What happens when you swim against the current? In a world where you are easily swept along by news, algorithms, hopeless prospects or a streetcar that simply follows its rails, Generation Z is looking for footing. Or at least a way to stay upright. Daniëlle Zawadi, writer, spoken word performer and literary voice of her generation, looks at that search with a poetic eye in her new performance Prove we once were a rock. Together with jazz drummer Kobe Gregoir, sound artist Laura Kampman and designer Elsemarijn Hijweege, she weaves a multimedia work of art in which everything is right: poetic recitation, musical tension, visuals and astute set and costume design. The performance was made at the Amsterdam production house and theater Frascati and sets sail – headwind or not – for the North this fall.
About Daniëlle Zawadi
Daniëlle Zawadi (b. 1999) writes prose and performs with spoken word, highlighting her Gen Z experiences as a second-generation Dutchman with Congolese roots. She is also a literary programmer at Poetry International and Crossing Border, among others. She initiated the spoken word platform Het Zwarte Schaap in The Hague and won several awards, including the Black Indigenous People of Color Voice Award in 2020. Earlier she made the performances ‘Alstublieft, Zawadi’ and ‘Ondervonden’, with which she performed at Oerol.
Credits
Text, film, concept & direction: Daniëlle Zawadi
Drums: Kobe Gregoir
Sound poetry & audio collages: Laura Kampan
Costume & set: Elsemarijn Hijweege