Festival Tweetakt

Festival Tweetakt is an annual performing arts festival for audiences of all ages, presenting work by emerging and established artists and makers from the Netherlands and abroad. Our organisation is guided by the following key principles:

1. A coherent programme combining emerging talent, international work and high-quality Dutch productions Festival Tweetakt presents youth theatre by emerging talent, distinctive international work and Dutch productions of a high artistic standard, bringing these together within a coherent and interdisciplinary programme.

2. International exchange and positioning Dutch artists and makers internationally Dutch productions are selected for their international relevance and form part of the festival’s international visitors programme. In this way, Tweetakt serves as a springboard for Dutch artists and makers towards international touring opportunities and performances.

3. Tweetakt as a springboard for artists and companies The festival functions as a platform for artistic development and presentation, supporting sustainable careers. Tweetakt contributes to the professional development of emerging and established artists and companies, with a focus on innovation, visibility and further growth within national and international networks.

4. Strong integration of education and participation Tweetakt places great importance on education and the active participation of children and young people. Performances are embedded in a broader context of educational programmes, opportunities for encounters and active engagement with art and culture.

5. A platform for professionals in the field Festival Tweetakt provides space for reflection on artistic and professional developments within the youth arts sector and brings professionals together during dedicated industry days featuring an inspiring programme and opportunities for meaningful exchange.

Every year, Festival Tweetakt demonstrates how exciting and meaningful contemporary performing arts can be. Our audience is diverse and includes families, schoolchildren, students, emerging artists and makers, professionals, critics and curious visitors from Utrecht and far beyond. Through collaborations with local organisations, we also reach residents of culturally diverse neighbourhoods. This is what makes Tweetakt unique: it is the only multidisciplinary youth arts festival in the Netherlands and one of the largest of its kind in Europe. Every year, international programmers visit the festival to discover the artistic quality and innovative strength of the programme.

We combine performances and visual arts in theatres across Utrecht with outdoor art at Fort Ruigenhoek, where we organise exhibitions, open-air performances, workshops and other activities.

Our programme is broad and includes theatre, dance, performance, visual arts, installations, short films, spoken word and intimate live music performances for young audiences. We create space for new talent, for example through graduation performances by students from theatre and performing arts programmes, and present this work alongside that of established artists and makers from the Netherlands and abroad. In doing so, we support artists and makers who wish to deepen and sustain their artistic practice.

Everyone should feel invited and represented, including people with little or no previous experience of art. We want to challenge the idea that art is complicated or boring and demonstrate how art can move and inspire people without requiring prior knowledge.