| Intro | The playground of local makers! |
| This edition in Playground | Matilde Tommasini, Paloma Lust, Sameepta Lamba, Sepand Dadbeh |
| Genre | Diverse |
| Duration | 75 min |
| Part of | Language no problem |
Welcome to our Playground, Korzo’s creative playground!
At Playground, we celebrate the raw energy, boldness, and diversity of local talent.
This evening is a tribute to creators from The Hague: surprising, multifaceted, and full of character. Expect the unexpected, from dance to music, from circus to performance art. Our ‘playground’ reflects the creative soul of the city and serves as a platform where makers dare, dream, and do.
Each year, we receive dozens of applications from emerging local artists. A local jury selects four to five of them to present their work on our professional stage. Playground offers them more than just a spot in the spotlight, it provides visibility, guidance, and an engaged audience.
This is where new stories are born, boundaries blur, and the audience comes face to face with the city’s creative force. Experience an evening filled with fresh talent, contagious energy, and exciting performances!
At Playground, everyone is welcome, as a maker, as a spectator, or as a curious soul.
This edition on Playground!
KESUMA
A solo drag performance where transformation unfolds slowly, like a quiet ritual, intimate, detailed, and close to the body. Kesuma means a beautiful flower, a symbol of femininity and becoming. With softness and precision, the piece invites you to slow down and witness a moment of change, like something blooming in its own time.
Credits
Concept & performance: Paloma Lust
Costume & visual concept: Paloma Lust
Music: Dzul Rabull, Dato’ Sri Siti Nurhaliza, Aisha Retno & Jaydi
About the maker
Paloma Lust is a Malaysian-born drag artist based in the Netherlands. She combines drag, theatre, and visual storytelling to explore femininity and identity through transformation. Her work is intimate and layered, often inspired by Southeast Asian aesthetics and traditions. She performs internationally and creates her own theatrical drag productions, bringing new perspectives into the European drag scene. She is the creator and producer of Pontianak: The Drag Opera, a theatrical drag production inspired by Southeast Asian mythology.
Rangreza
A dance solo about feeling empty and worn out, like something that has lost its color. Instead of giving up, the piece asks, what if you bring the color back yourself? Rangreza is about resilience, self-repair, and finding hope from within, even in darker moments.
Credits
Choreography & performance: Sameepta Lamba
Music: A.R. Rahman, Ramses Shaffy
About the maker
Sameepta Lamba is a dance maker and performer, recently graduated from Fontys. Her work starts from personal experience and transforms emotions into movement. She blends contemporary, street, and Indian dance styles into a physical and expressive language. Through her work, she creates space for reflection and connection, inviting the audience to feel and relate.
Oudyssey
A musical journey where sound becomes storytelling, layered, immersive, and poetic. With the oud at the center, the performance moves through memory, myth, and different cultures. It connects Persian and Middle Eastern traditions with a contemporary voice, inviting the audience into a shared sonic experience.
Credits
Composer & performer: Sepand Dadbeh
Musician: Lucie Leleaurain
About the maker
Sepand Dadbeh is an Iranian multi-instrumentalist and performer based in Rotterdam. His work brings together music, storytelling, and cultural heritage. Inspired by both tradition and experimentation, he creates performances that move between past and present. His approach is rooted in musical narration, where each performance unfolds like a journey.
MENS REA
A physical duet set in a strange, dystopian world where everything is accepted. Violence, intimacy, and absurd moments exist side by side, without explanation or consequence. The piece plays with what feels normal and what doesn’t, building a reality that is both unsettling and strangely familiar.
Credits
Choreography: Matilde Tommasini
Performance: Matilde Tommasini & collaborator
About the maker
Matilde Tommasini is an Italian dancer and maker based in the Netherlands. She works internationally as a performer and movement director. Her style is raw, precise, and highly physical, pushing the limits of the body. In her own work, she explores new movement languages and creates worlds that feel both abstract and deeply human.
Korzo Zaal