DESIRÉE

Desirée tells the story of a marginalized young black woman who fights against exclusion and institutional racism. As she slowly sinks into a dream world between reality, madness and hope, Desirée offers an unadulterated look at the challenges that many young people experience today.

Desirée was written by Norman de Palm and Felix de Rooy in 1980 and is being brought back to the stage by RIGHTABOUTNOW INC. by Ritzah Statia (acting) and Marjorie Boston (direction). De Palm and De Rooy inspired their award-winning play by a true story, published in the New York Times ('80), which was the basis for a theatre monologue that is still relevant today.

Actress Ritzah Statia is a physical theatre maker, mimer and urban dancer with Afro-Caribbean roots. She won Best of Fringe 2021 with her solo Kibra Silensio and starred in The Story of Travis, for which she was nominated for the theatre award 'de Colombina'. Statia is also co-director of the remake of the impactful 2023 performance KINGS by RAN INC. Director Marjorie Boston, founder of RIGHTABOUTNOW INC. directed the successful performances Queen of disco (winner of the 2023 Toneelschrijfprijs), Tori and Status.

Both the performance Desirée and the film of the same name marked the international breakthrough of Felix de Rooy and Norman de Palm, both from Curaçao. In 1983 they settled in the Netherlands with Illushion Kosmiko/Cosmic Illusion and, together with theatre company De Nieuw Amsterdam (DNA) of directors Rufus Collins and Henk Tjon, they changed the Dutch theatre landscape forever as pioneers of professional black theatre.