Past productions

Play Review!

Ryan Millar reviews the AATG’s ‘True West’, performed at Mike’s Badhuis, Amsterdam on 6 June 2025

Sam Shepard’s True West is a pillar of gritty American theater for very good reason. It’s a slice of the American dream, dragged through the mud, served with a side of mozzarella sticks and bottomless beer. In this iteration, the show is haunting, funny, and very capably brought to life on the strength of its two leads’ performances.

Hans Holsen’s Lee is filled with quiet, barely concealed menace, nimbly moving from growls to shouts as he occasionally manhandles his brother. His counterpart progresses from buttoned-down officiousness (rare in a Hollywood screenwriter!) to a more liminal animal—spiraling, raw, and unguarded by the end. Once he’s drunk away his composure, Jimmy Finch’s Austin is no longer in control: all pain and frustration, effectively gone from top of the world to crushed beneath the weight of it.

“A slice of the American dream, dragged through the mud…”

Of course, any play lives and dies by the strength of its direction, and this whole production is well-marshalled. The set is sprawling and evocative, the direction sharp, and the supporting actors, tech, and stage crew all combine to deliver a show that punches above its weight—for an amateur production. Henri Colens’s bombastic producer Saul is delightful, and the sound design absolutely nails its brief.

On this night in Mike’s Badhuistheater, the Den Haag crew swept in during the afternoon, transforming the blackbox surroundings into a surprisingly complete kitchen set. Hours later, the brothers’ menace unraveled before a full house. And not long after, the set was dismantled, packed away into a cube van, trundling home.

A perfect metaphor for the American dream: full of pristine promise, then ravaged by infighting before our eyes, then swiftly disassembled and carted away.

A powerhouse play, lovingly and effectively rendered.

True West

by Sam Shepard, directed by Chris Buck

3-6 April, 2025 at De Kunsthut

6 June, 2025 at Mike’s Badhuistheater

Hans Holsen (LEE) and Jimmy Finch (AUSTIN) starred in the AATG’s production of Sam Shepard’s classic play. Both actors deserve enormous credit for their portrayals of warring brothers, each pursuing their version of the ‘American Dream’. Directed by Chris Buck, who early on placed an emphasis on bringing out the comic aspects of the play, the AATG created a visceral and memorable piece of theatre. Megan Walch Janusz (MOM) and Henri Colens (SAUL) found themselves in the supporting roles. Huge thanks also to the crew comprising Peter Comley, Eva Buscher, Emma de Moel, Nick Verkerk, Hans van Bemmelen, Myles Dixon, Paul Dundas and John de Vries. And of course thank you to Gaby Weekhout at De Kunsthut, the venue of choice for gritty, independent theatre in The Hague!

Panto magic!

5-7 December 2024 at Theater aan het Spui

Directed by Jenny Hall, ‘Peter Pan’ lived up to its billing. The writer may have been ‘lazy and out of ideas’, but after several twists and turns, Peter, Wendy and Tinkerbell managed to restore the source of the pixie dust and defeat mean ol’ Captain Hook (again), with the help of Mrs Smee and the Faerie Queen, scarecrows, zombies, stroopwafels, mobile phone technology and, of course, all the boys and girls.

Thank you to everyone who made it so memorable: our fantastic cast, an army of technical crew, set builders, painters, costume designers, make-up artists, stage managers, production coordinators, choreographers, kids chaperones, the musicians in the band… And you, the audience, who made all the hard work worthwhile!

A Night to Remember…

21-23 June, 2024 at De Warenar

Directed by Jenny Hall, 'A Night on Broadway 2' was the second edition of our family-friendly musical extravaganza featuring some of Broadway’s greatest hits! Audiences were treated to songs from classics like Grease, Annie, Evita and The Addams Family, but also innovatively choreographed numbers from lesser known shows, such as I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change and Six.

This was the greatest show!

Poetry & Freedom

19-21 May, 2023 at Het Zeeheldentheater

12 May, 2024 at De Regentes

17 May, 2024 at Zuiderpershuis in Antwerp

Initially part of a Shelley/Byron double-bill directed by Henri Colens and John Kearey in 2023, ‘The Prisoner of Chillon’ was chosen to be the AATG’s entry to FEATS in May 2024. In the wake of John’s tragic death, the Byron poem about an incarcerated freedom fighter took on even greater significance. Our intrepid cast (Chris Buck, Rob Grant and Ron Hooghiemstra) rose to the challenge and their performances paid homage to John’s passion for innovative and meaningful theatre.