Voorwaarts | Esmay Usmany

Both of Esmay Usmany's grandparents left Indonesia after the war. They arrived in the Netherlands, built a life along dykes and meadows - yet carried a quiet inner division with them. Parts of their souls remained behind on the rice fields, in the villages, at the market.

That division is the starting point of Voorwaarts, a music theatre performance in which Usmany meets different sides of herself: grieving, accepting and flowing parts, but also parts that are stuck or holding on. She asks questions like: who are you when your roots grew in multiple places? What happens to a dream when it crosses a border - does it shrink, or does it gain wings? How do you find home when your memories are scattered across multiple places?

Through song, play and storytelling - with scenes that alternate between homesickness, humour and hope - she also explores how to break free from family patterns that are both a foundation and tight shoes. The performance is for anyone who ever moved, was left behind, or simply wants to move forward.