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Soft Tactics for Hard Times

Merel Severs i.s.m. Frascati
Sat 20 Sep ’25 and Sun 21 Sep ’25
A program about what it takes to stand strong in resistance against oppressive systems.
Sat 20 Sep ’25
and
Sun 21 Sep ’25

In Soft Tactics for Hard Times, theatre maker Merel Severs brings together a variety of voices at the invitation of Frascati, for dialogue, performative interventions, and playful assignments. How do you fight for your freedom without becoming hardened? How do you create safety for yourself and others in a world that constantly keeps you on edge? And what does it take to remain standing in the midst of the struggle?

Together with changing guests, Merel reflects not on the struggle itself, but on what we can and must do to be able to carry that struggle. The program is open to visit on Saturday the 20th and Sunday the 21st of September, preceding and alongside We're all alone in this together of Kim Karssen.

From micro-aggressions on the street to internalized oppression, from family expectations to systemic challenges: how do you deal with the constant pressure? What practices do you need to stay resilient? And how do you make space for feeling in a world dominated by the rational?

Soft Tactics for Hard Times is about care and connection as forms of resistance. About (re)cognizing wounds and building resilience. About the interplay between body and mind—how thinking moves through the body, and the body shapes thoughts.

Seated in a circle, Merel invites us to actively listen and reflect together. A shared search for what connects us, not by erasing our differences, but by acknowledging them.

  • Duur: 60 mins. 

Credits

concept & hosting Merel Severs guests varying per evening: Milou van Duijnhoven, Çiğdem Polat, Rina Ghafoerkhan, Jay Muller, Avantika Tibrewal

About Merel Severs

Theatre maker, performer, and martial artist Merel Severs (1991) creates engaged, confrontational, and physical performances, drawing inspiration from intersectional feminism, body politics, and martial arts. With her distinctive style, she uses the transformative power of the body to question violent structures in the world.

Merel’s performances Let Me Tell You Something You Already Know (2020) and Try Not To Know What You Know (2022) were both nominated for the BNG Bank Theatre Prize. Last year, she toured with her latest production Coerced & Freely Given (2024). Besides being a creator, Merel is also co-founder of Dance Space Destiny: an open space in Amsterdam focused on community building, artistic exchange, and experimentation.

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