Een tijd van liefde
Following the resounding success of The Death of Benny Simons, director Shady El-Hamus and writer Ashgan El-Hamus return with A Time of Love: an energetic, compelling love story set against the backdrop of a changing Netherlands.
He leaves sun-drenched Egypt behind to fulfill his dream of becoming an actor. She grows up in rainy the Netherlands as the daughter of Surinamese parents and dreams of a career as a singer. When they find each other, their love is immediate and inevitable. In the big city, they build the life they have always envisioned. Until the social winds in the Netherlands shift, and slowly but surely blow into their love nest.
The story begins where it hurts: at the end. From there, we move back in time to the 90s. From lows to highs, and from contempt to curiosity. Is it possible to stay together when the societal tone hardens and turns increasingly against you? And eventually seeps into your living room and relationship?
A Time of Love pulses to a vibrant mix of Arabic and Western music with compositions by Yasper Molle ( The Death of Benny Simons ). Together with a live band, Dwight Breinburg ( Café 749, De Grote Ricardo ), and actors ‘Ntianu Stuger and Shahine El-Hamus, among others, create an organic, exhilarating sound of love.
Shady El-Hamus’s previous production, De dood van Benny Simons, was nominated three times by the Dutch Theatre Jury: Shady El-Hamus for the directing award, Sidar Toksöz for his supporting role, and Daniël Kolf won the Theo d’Or for his leading role. From the jury report: “De dood van Benny Simons is theatre that touches and grates: a poignant story about grief, growing up, and the longing for connection, told with boldness, feeling, and originality.”
