Escape the Dutch

"WhatsApp Neighbourhood Watches are vigilante initiatives that are rapidly spreading in the Netherlands. Through group chats, residents police their neighbourhood for supposed intruders, often based on racist and xenophobic beliefs. These actions carry the consequences of social and ethnic profiling, leading to false accusations in the name of crime prevention. Ultimately, public space becomes a stage where every passerby is a potential suspect.

Under the direction of Daniel Holler, two actors stage a reenactment from the transcript of a WhatsApp group. Each act explores how the residents’ fear of the foreign spirals into practices of othering and policing. The project uses theatrical amplification to shed light on how such moments come to be, confronting the audience to question their behaviour."