Vanja Rukavina, a 2017 nominee in the dramatic arts category of the Piket Art Prizes, has won the Arlecchino for his part in Het Nationale Theater’s production The Nation. Vanja was awarded the prize during the awards ceremony of the VSCD Theatre Prizes on 16 September at the Internationaal Theater Amsterdam. “I am very grateful,” Rukavina says.

At the ceremony Rukavina praised The Nation’s director Eric de Vroedt and indicated he would like to work with him again. The Arlecchino is the award for the most impressive male supporting role. The Nation is a stage thriller about the out-of-whack multicultural society. “I gave the statuette to my parents, because I’m grateful to them for their support.” He was delighted with the letter that accompanied the Arlecchino. “They said I am making an important contribution to the theatrical landscape. That really gave me a warm feeling.” The Theo and Louis d’Or and the Colombina and Arlecchino are awarded annually by the Dutch association of managements of theatres and concert halls (Vereniging van Schouwburg- en Concertgebouwdirecties, VSCD). Rukavina outstripped fellow nominees Rick Paul van Mulligen (Othello), Michiel Blankwaardt (Woiski vs Woiski), and Arnon Grunberg (De Mensheid).

De wereld volgens John and Language

The next project of Het Nationale Theater in The Hague has already been scheduled: De wereld volgens John (The world according to John) [link van maken], a The Nation spin-off. In addition, Rukavina is working on the performance Language (working title), a coproduction with Het Nationale Theater. Language will be presented at Zaal 3 in The Hague in January 2019.

Cool Japan

Vanja Rukavina also contributed to the exhibition Cool Japan at the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam. In the video (see link below) he tells us about his fascination for this country. “They were looking for Amsterdammers who are ‘into Japan’. I’ve been there six times. Japan is really a hobby of mine,” Vanja explains. “I have been watching anime since I was a kid. I think it’s an interesting country, also perhaps because it’s so exotic. I’ve been taking Japanese language lessons for years. It’s my dream to perform there.” The Cool Japan exhibition can be seen until 1 September 2019.

Foto: Anna van Kooij