programme
Ned McGowan (*1970)
e.a.
performers
Cappella Amsterdam
Female Economy
Calefax
Noodopvang Amsterdam Galaxy
The Mall
Sacha Muller actor
Troupe Courage acting group
Timo Dries trumpet
Wouter van den Wildt percussion
Katrien van Beurden direction
Adelheid Roosen concept
and many others
background
For two and a half hours, The Procession moves from story to story, with a four-metre-tall puppet that is brought to life during the walk. Along the way, various characters appear, each with their own story.
We follow Sacha, a free spirit and central figure, who — despite his terminal illness — shapes his own grief ceremony in the midst of life. We walk with quiet stillness, swinging live music and lyrical poetry alongside his theatre family: people who share stories about grief, healing and the will to live.
Joe, dressed in purple and balancing between jester and master of ceremonies, guides the procession with a flower megaphone. He asks questions, sets people in motion and keeps things light where they threaten to grow heavy.
Along the way we cross other lives: Sina, who tries to hold onto a moment of togetherness with his sister while their flight threatens to pull them apart. Mustafa, who grows up in a place where you first learn what death is, and only then what life means. A bird sings for unborn children, while a cat keeps the last remnants of who you once were.
All these stories of farewell, grief and love of life weave together into a collective tapestry of what it means to be human.
The Procession invites us to pause together and keep going — in a time when loss is visible and vulnerability may be shared.
music
The musical core of The Procession is formed by Calefax and Cappella Amsterdam. They perform music from different centuries and corners of the world, complemented by new compositions by Ned McGowan. Young people from Noodopvang Amsterdam Galaxy and youth network The Mall add their own rhythmic and musical contributions, accompanied by percussionist Wouter van der Wildt.
toegankelijkheid
The performance lasts approximately 2.5 hours and involves walking. Comfortable shoes are recommended. Toilets are available at the start and end of the route. Performances go ahead in most weather conditions, with the exception of extreme weather, so consider bringing rain gear.
“The funeral procession has left the city and I want it back. It is what is known as a ‘rite de passage’: a transition — a journey — from one state of being to the next. The power of this, I believe, has been forgotten. We think we no longer need it, but everywhere I see the cracks and the opposition that arise where no bridge has been built, where what has been has not been processed and what is new has not been welcomed. The Procession is a transformative procession through the city. Full of cultural rituals in which everyone participates and, in connection, experiences and shares their grief.”
– Adelheid Roosen, Female Economy
