In her work for musical theatre, Meriç Artaç deals with concrete issues, both in the realm of the personal – such as stifling mother-daughter relationships (Kayra) – and in the realm of the societal, such as when she wrote about asylum seekers in Zonderland. Music, theatrical performance and writings provide Artaç with the means of involving her audience in the issues of our time: consumption and self-destruction (Lotlozar), alienation (Hopper) or unfulfillable longing (Café Dorst).
Madam Koo is a small-scale absurdist opera about the search for trust in a time of distrust and fear. With this opera, the makers reflect on terror attacks and a culture of fear in Europe and Turkey, the country where composer Meriç Artaç was born. Madam Koo takes its inspiration from, among other things, the book De Beethovenstraat (2015) by investigative journalist Frank van Kolfschooten. In this book, Van Kolfschooten writes about German-Jewish refugees, who during World War II were deported from tram stop Beethovenstraat to Amsterdam Central Station and from there on to concentration camp Westerbork. The way many people viewed this particular group of the population shows disturbing similarities with the current refugee debate.
Curious? Have a look at the trailer.
Madam Koo is a production by Diamantfabriek.