Amber Vineyard's Queer Cabaret: Pearl Dive (2024 - onward)

Richard Kofi
Mar 29, 2024
2 min read

Lieve Stad is a festival that reflects the many faces of Amsterdam. A celebration of theatre, art, and dialogue, it mirrors the dynamics of a metropolitan environment in which the city itself serves as a source of inspiration. Initiated by Internationaal Theater Amsterdam (ITA) and Meervaart, the festival centers on bringing people together: in theaters, in the city, and in society at large. It asks how we live together, and which stories are carried by the many individuals and communities that shape Amsterdam.

Lieve Stad, the concept

Since 2024, I have been responsible for programming Lieve Stad on behalf of ITA. For this edition of Lieve Stad, the festival was shaped by a clear thematic focus, The Mental State of the City, and by a collaborative curatorial model. Working with co-curators allowed multiple perspectives to coexist, deepening the program and reflecting the layered realities of the city itself.

Mental State of the City

The realities and complexities of our time leave a clear imprint on our collective mental wellbeing: we absorb, respond, and adapt. Through performance, music, and conversation, Lieve Stad offered space to pause and reflect on how these conditions affect both individual and collective states of mind.

The program foregrounded makers for whom themes such as decolonization, polyphony, and multilingualism are not abstract concepts but lived practices. Their work invited audiences to reconsider the emotional, social, and political landscapes that shape life in the city today.

Yassine Boussaid, Director of Meervaart, reflected on the festival: “With Lieve Stad, we enrich the city with provocative, inspiring, and caring productions—presented at two key cultural anchors and supported by in-depth contextual programming. We do not only celebrate the city’s successes, but also dare to confront what is happening beneath the surface. From vibrant programs to challenging themes, Lieve Stad functions as a barometer of the city for both makers and audiences.”

At its core, Lieve Stad was about encounters—between people and between perspectives. The festival created space for friction, confrontation, and energizing exchanges, while also allowing room for healing, care, and rest.

Guest Curatorship: Amber Vineyard

A defining element of this edition was the decision to work with co-curators. Within carefully framed concepts, they were invited to articulate their own artistic statements, support talent, and offer distinct perspectives on the mental state of the city. Together, we explored what happens to the theatre when care, rather than spectacle, becomes a guiding principle in programming.

Amber Vineyard was invited as a guest curator and created Queer Cabaret: Pearl Dive!, transforming ITA’s Grand Hall into a fluid, immersive space. Through performance and collective presence, the work explored the breadth of queer identity and expression. Pearl Dive! foregrounded queer bodies, voices, and experiences, creating an environment in which vulnerability, strength, pleasure, and imagination could coexist.

The impact of Pearl Dive extended beyond the performance itself, reshaping the relationship between stage and audience and leaving a lasting impression of how care, desire, and transformation can be held within the theatrical space.

Huge thank you to the amazing Amber Vineyard for putting this together.

Photo's by Marion Visser