Brandhaarden: Marlene Monteiro Freitas Podcast (2025)

Op de planken is a podcast by Internationaal Theater Amsterdam in which our host, Richard Kofi, talks to makers about theater, society, and how these two influence each other. Every month we invite a maker and a specialist to talk about the themes that are currently occupying our minds.

In this episode, ITA programmer Richard Kofi talks to choreographer Marlene Monteiro Freitas, one of the most innovative and groundbreaking makers in contemporary dance. Her performance Bacchae – Prelude to a Purge opened Brandhaarden last weekend.

Freitas talks about the themes of her work: ecstasy, transformation, and the thin line between chaos and order. She shares how her youth in Cape Verde shaped her artistic vision and which sources of inspiration—from carnival to mythology—return in her choreographies. The conversation also covers her unique dance language, in which physical expression, rhythm, and alienation come together.

An in-depth and energetic conversation about the power of movement, the influence of ritual and the importance of radical imagination on stage.

Find our convo on Spotify