Dream
ETU Playground – 10, 11 & 12 October 2025
A Performance in a New Format
ETU is announcing a new type of performance for theatre enthusiasts to sink their teeth into! Written, directed and performed by our theatre community.
ETU Playground is a performance that consists of a set of shorter plays, created by different subgroups united under the theme: ‘Dream’. The performances are mini plays or separate scenes, either original or from existing work. These mini plays allow the creators to try out new materials and take on a more experimental role than our regular performances. Playground is where discoveries are made.
The ETU Playground is performed at Theaterschool Utrecht
Friday 10 October 20.00h
Saturday 11 October 20.00h
Sunday 12 October 15.00h
Wait for the Heatwave to Pass
Matei Vișniec’s Wait for the Heatwave to Pass is a short but powerful piece of dream poetry, mixing the absurd with the real. The play centers on a woman, an ethereal figure who embodies the voices of countless immigrants forced to leave everything behind, and a border guard, who becomes the embodiment of bureaucracy, rules, and the rigid systems that decide who belongs and who does not.
Though written over twenty years ago, the play feels strikingly contemporary. Immigration remains one of the most pressing issues of our time, and Vișniec’s surreal dialogue echoes the many stories and struggles we still see today. The child in the play brings in a voice of the future, asking us to reflect on how the next generation navigates belonging, identity, and home.
I don’t want this piece to offer answers. Instead, I hope it sparks questions: How do systems define who we are? How do children inherit their parents’ struggles, and how do they transform them?
Sleep : Tight
Have you ever missed a meeting after oversleeping?
Have you ever lost your sleep due to overthinking?
Have you ever spent hours in bed tossing and turning?
She is asleep.
Three characters find themselves trapped in the role of a bystander. This time something has changed. They decide to take action. Will they make it? Will She wake up on time?
Sleep : Tight is made by
Gerasimos Giovanakis
Nóra Kardos
Louise Scanlan, Diana Daubek, Sofiia Vorozhbiieva
Silence
Only two people came to the funeral of Astrid Halvorsen. One was the nurse who had looked after her during the last years of her life. The other was a journalist, asking questions.
“Where was she from?”
“Did she ever talk about her life?”
“What did she do during the war?”
Questions no one could answer. But there are always rumours.
Silence is made by
Luisa Garcia Amaya
Grace Smith
Marte van der Linden
Jasper Landman
The Waiting Room
Three strangers find themselves in a surreal waiting room that floats between reality and dreams. Each is offered a chance to re-enter a long-abandoned dream and choose whether to return to reality or stay in their dream permanently. As Luna, Mira, and Theo navigate their dreams, will they choose to stay or go back?
The Waiting Room is made by
Anne den Bandt
Luisa Garcia Amaya
Diana Daubek
Ahmet Arslan
Sara Whitaker
Apolline Bourgeouis
Claire Shaw
Overtime
Clancey is the employee of the month, every month -- though he's lost sight of why he works at all. When a late night at the office causes him to miss an important moment with his brother, Clancey is forced to reconsider his purpose, and his dreams.
Overtime is made by
Marte van der Linden
Jasper Landman
René van der Veen
Eef de Korte