Escape the Dutch

Safe for Who?

These rapidly spreading vigilante initiatives involve residents surveilling their neighbourhood for supposed intruders, often driven by racist and xenophobic beliefs. This leads to social and ethnic profiling, resulting in false accusations in the name of crime prevention. Public space becomes a stage where every passerby is a potential suspect.

Under the direction of Daniel Holler, two actors stage a re-enactment from the transcript of a WhatsApp group. Each act explores how fear of the foreign spirals into practices of policing, while retaining the often absurd interactions of the members. As director, set designer, and screenwriter, Holler makes the hidden, racialised proceedings of citizen policing chats experienceable, iteratively examining how 'othering' emerges through theatrical amplification. The set design and screenplay confront the audience with the paranoic escalation in group chats, emulating the political reality of Dutch neighbourhoods.

Come Visit!

Performances daily at 11:30, 12:30 and 13:30 at the Design Academy Eindhoven Graduation Show in Microstad. Address: Professor Doctor Dorgelolaan 2, 5611 BA Eindhoven.