CrossOver Festival: Cross paths with the rest of Oost

Mike's Badhuistheater, 4–13 October Boerhaaveplein 28, Amsterdam-Oost
Amsterdam runs on small scenes. The comedy bunch, the high-brow theatre lot, the live music regulars, the students, the families who've been on the same street for forty years, all within a few tram stops of each other and almost never in the same place at the same time.

For ten days this October, Mike's Badhuistheater is doing something about that. The CrossOver Festival is all about providing a space for different art forms and audiences to meet, mix, and intersect - all in the name of community, theatre, and collaboration through art.

Located in a former public bathhouse in Oost, the Badhuistheater is a (mostly) English-language theatre and community hub: up to 100 seats inside, a terrace out on the Boerhaaveplein, and a cosy bar in the foyer.

The festival kicks off on Sunday 4 October with a workshop from Becky Blomgren, then a special matinee performance of REDACTED by Cheek and Joule  a political drama about the influence of tech on freedom of speech, censorship, and power, followed by a Q&A with the cast and director and a community dinner where you can argue all about it over a home-cooked meal.
Wednesday moves outside with a FREE performance of Cyrano de Bergerac on the terrace: swashbuckling sword fights and romantic B-plots, the sold-out show is back for one night in the open air.

Thursday, learn to perform Shakespeare like the pros with William Sutton, open to any level and ideal for dipping a toe in. Then watch brand-new one-act plays by writers working in this city, put your hand up in the Q&A afterwards, and still be in the same seat when Daragh Gillen starts a live folk set in the evening.

Friday, Badhuis International bring their comedic satire Republic of Boerhaave out onto the square, free and in the open air, followed by a special performance from Downstage Left fresh off their run at the Edinburgh Fringe, with improv comedy inside later that night.

Saturday  a young group of actors from the Tiramisu Ernst Busch Theater School Berlin perform their new play. ( last Year “Accidental Death of an Anarchist” ) 

Sunday closes with a workshop before Noordhaus presents a new play in the afternoon, then one last Q&A and community dinner to chew over the week.

But the fun doesn't end there. On Tuesday we hand the terrace to the kids from the neighbourhood for an afternoon of children's theatre from Badhuis Atelier.

And there's dinner. Opening night and closing night, everyone eats together in the foyer; audience, cast, whoever's still around. Sitting next to someone you've just watched perform, or someone who sat three seats away and hated the thing you loved, can be a better night out than the show on its own!

Check the full programme and tickets