The Press about OFFER (Sacrifice)

Reviews

Theaterkrant, Thea Derks, March 17, 2025

Vocal ensemble poses highly topical questions about the justification of violence.

These time jumps are cleverly staged by stage director Annechien Koerselman and designed by composer Lucas Wiegerink. Béni Csillag, conducting on the black box stage, strikes a gong and swings a crackling rattle around, the choir members spin around their axis, like the hands of a clock. A cold green beam of light falls on SHE and her index finger floating above the detonator. While SHE speaks her bloodthirsty message, the singers recoil in fear and shock.

After her prologue [...] the choir members carry office furniture onto the stage, which will later be converted into impressive barricades, including the marimba.

Percussionist Colin Crandal cannot be praised enough. He never loses his bearings, even when the choir nearly drags his instruments from under his ass. The passage in which he beats his snare drum like a Pied Piper of Hamelin and leads the singers in a combative song is particularly effective.

Annechien Koerselman keeps the story moving with rapid scene changes, with choir members and conductor tirelessly lugging tables, chairs, lamps and carpets.

OFFER [Sacrifice] is a successful performance, which poses the question whether violence can ever be justified. Given the current call for a European army, an answer to this question is not easy to formulate.

Prepublicity

Tubantia, Marco Krijnsen, March 06, 2025

Stage director Annechien Koerselman: “We call The Great Evil The Dragon. Who or what The Dragon is, everyone can fill in according to their own needs. What is evil for one person, can be good for another. And because of the polarization, that has only become worse and more topical. The opinions about what that good world is, are so strongly opposed to each other these days. That is why every visitor can identify with the story.”

“SHE goes much further than the rest. If you want to be consistent, you should also consider making innocent victims for the good cause. Then people can die. That is her conviction," Koerselman outlines. "The interesting thing is that there is a love flowing through it. That makes it even more complex. It is horrible that love is not enough to make you put things into perspective“.

Eight years ago we started this production and it's actually only getting worse. Sometimes you can't make people see reason anymore.

I noticed during the rehearsals that the story moves me a lot. How come? I think because of the topicality. People can sometimes go very far for their ideals, love can't stop them, families are torn apart by it. I find that really terrible.

KlassiekvanNu, Thea Derks, March 04, 2025

The performance fits seamlessly into our polarized times. Composer Lucas Wiegerink: 'Soprano Fanny Alofs, who sings the lead role, came up with the idea eight years ago. She was very inspired by the book The Good Terrorist by Doris Lessing, about a warm, sweet woman who holds radical ideas. Sophie Kassies has made her own version, but the core theme has remained the same.'

Wiegerink: This group initially seems sure of itself and wants to convince each other and others of its own rightness. They sing about the beautiful, better world in harmonious sounds, but slowly their music becomes more incendiary and eventually even degenerates into martial music

I use the literally explosive nature of instruments like tomtoms to highlight the radical side of the story. With melodic percussion, like vibraphone and marimba, I emphasize the more harmonious side.