Programme 2026

A (k)night club night

Curated by Ainhoa Hernández Escudero

Sat May 16 20:30 til 04:00

A club night at EKKO, curated by Ainhoa Hernández Escudero. A night for the performances of the night: drag, burlesque, vogue. High value and undervalued. A forest for the jesters. A club (k)night. Come to dance. To witness. To become. 

asses.masses

Patrick Blenkarn + Milton Lim

Sat May 16 13:00 & Sun May 17 13:00 uur

asses.masses is a 7+ hour live video game in the theatre, where spectators take turns leading a herd of unemployed donkeys through a post-Industrial world. There’s no winning or losing, the story unfolds through the audience’s choices. Cheeky, political, and immersive, it explores work, technology, and freedom in an epic, collaborative experience.

campfire

Ezra Veldhuis & Bosse Provoost

Fri May 22 16:00, 18:00 and 20:00 & Sat May 23 12:00, 14:00, 16:00 and 18:00

In this sensory installation, you are invited to let go of the human gaze. Beneath an arc of light, you will hear a conversatoin about bodies different from our own dream of and experience the world. It is a singular attempt to make us feel that, deep down, we are all interconnected. Can we imagine how bodies unlike ours perceive the world?

Deltas

Nahuel Cano

Tue May 19 19:00 & Wed May 20 21:00

In this music theatre performance, Nahuel Cano connects personal grief with the fragility of our planet. Following the Paraná and the Rhine, live music, film, and storytelling intertwine to explore loss. A poetic journey that shows how grief can sharpen our attention to the world we live in.

Do not go gentle into that good night

Dries Verhoeven

Sat May 23 14:00-20:30

As the world unravels, activism is seeing a resurgence, at times sincere and decisive, at others a well-intentioned but empty shell. With this intervention, Dries Verhoeven examines the aesthetics of resistance. Can an artistic expression spark genuine change, or has protest become a toothless ritual? Do we still believe in the impact of our actions, or are we succumbing to despondency in the face of political and social gridlock?

Engeki Quest

orangcosong

Fri May 15 till Sat May 23 you can determine the start time yourself

Explore Utrecht on foot with Engeki Quest, a flâneur-style adventure guided by an Adventure Book. Alone, you step into the perspective of fictional characters, uncover hidden streets, stories, and social life, and experience the city in a deeply personal and immersive way, offering a new perspective for both locals and visitors.

Everything Must Go

Forced Entertainment

Sat May 23 20:30

Late night, in a bar somewhere, six people desperately try to hold on to their humanity but the voices you hear are not their own. Using lip sync and AI vocals, Forced Entertainment deep dives into the relationship between human presence and desire, and the phantom presences and desires produced by the capitalist machine.

Film Night: Holding the Unsaid

Adrià Guxens

Sun May 17 16:00

Bringing together four short works by filmmaker Adrià Guxens, this film night traces an intimate cartography of distance, memory and belonging across Asia and Europe. Guxens approaches each territory not as an outsider looking in, but as a listener—tuning into fragile gestures, suspended atmospheres, and the quiet tensions of identity. The screening will be followed by a live Q&A with the filmmaker.

Giselle: A Summary

Hana Sakai x Toshiki Okada

Thu May 21 21:00

Giselle: A Summary features Hana Sakai, former principal dancer of The National Ballet of Japan, performing the romantic classic while taking on the persona of a YouTuber. She narrates the story of Giselle, mixing flawless ballet, subtle humour, and playful commentary, inviting the audience into a world that becomes increasingly complex and captivating as reality and fiction, stage and screen, begin to blur.

Home Bound

Daniel Kok & Luke George

Thursday May 14, 4 p.m. opening, Friday May 15 till Saturday May 23, 12 p.m. - 9 p.m. programme, 9:30 a.m. - 11 p.m. installation on view

Over 10 days, Neude transforms into Home Bound as artists, craftspeople, and community groups weave diverse rope materials and their stories together to build a giant rope installation. As fibres intertwine, communities who do not typically share the same space collaborate in a choreography of knots that represents the social dialogue in the Netherlands. You’re invited to enter the woven landscape, witness the makers, learn their skills, hear their stories, or add your own hands to this growing tapestry, woven by and for Utrecht.

IsLand Bar

orangcosong & guests

Thu May 21, Fri May 22 & Sat May 23 17:00-23:00

This storytelling performance, set in Utrecht’s local cafés. At the bar, migrant artists serve signature cocktails infused with their personal histories and identities. Through shared drinks and intimate stories, this project creates a space to explore displacement and the experiences that shape our cultural reality.

Klei

Schweigman& i.c.w. Zoro Feigl & HIIIT

Fri May 15 till Sun May 17 20:00 & Wed May 20 till Sat May 23 20:00

In an unpredictable landscape of ten tons of clay, body and music merge. Klei is a sensory search for the primal connection between human and earth, in all its beauty, struggle, and wonder. An invitation to return to the essence: How do we relate to our bodies? And to the land we inhabit? Immerse yourself.

LILITH.AEON

AΦE

Thu May 21 till Sat May 23 12:00-22:00

LILITH.AEON is a 60-minute immersive experience blending dance and AI. Audiences move around a giant LED cube, where their movements shape the performance of Lilith, a virtual being between death and digital rebirth. Each show is unique, creating a live dialogue between human and machine.

LILITH.AI Lecture Performance

AΦE

Thu May 21 14:30

LILITH.AI Lecture Performance is an intimate journey into the space between life and death, where technology and human experience intertwine. Through this performative lecture, artists Aoi and Esteban unfold their encounter with mortality—a personal loss that led them to Matheryn Naovaratpong, the youngest person to be cryogenically frozen. This journey ultimately inspired the creation of their digital offspring, Lilith, and the interactive installation LILITH.AEON.

No Man’s Land – الأرض الحرام

alaa minawi

Fri May 22 19:00 & Sat May 23 15:00 and 21:00

If the present is broken, can we reimagine the future? In his first work for the stage, alaa minawi continues the search he started with The Liminal. Traveling through Lebanon, Egypt, and Palestine, he explores the "no man's land": a space between worlds where the imagination can breathe again.

OFFSPRING

Mon May 18 19:00

OFFSPRING is the festival’s platform where four makers courageously share their works in progress and reflect on them together with the audience. This year’s participating artists are Shaquille George, Jana Jacuka, Tim van Loon and Emma van den Elshout.

Opening night – double bill

Sung Im Her / HER project

Thu May 14 20:00

Everything Falls Dramatic &TomorrowisNowTodayisYesterday SPRING opens with a special double bill by renowned choreographer Sung Im Her. Bringing together two distinct groups of collaborators, this evening offers a unique opportunity to dive into her visceral world across the big stage of Stadsschouwburg Utrecht.

Radio Vinci Park

Théo Mercier & François Chaignaud

Sat May 16 & Sun May 17 21:30

In the raw setting of an abandoned industrial space hidden in the city, Radio Vinci Park unfolds as a feverish ritual between human and machine. Choreographer François Chaignaud, a motorcycle stuntman, and a harpsichordist collide in a spectacular duel of seduction and attack, until the mechanics of fantasy spiral out of control. This masterpiece is performed only six times a year worldwide, offering a rare opportunity to witness such raw intensity firsthand. 

Reading Group with Khadija El Kharraz Alami

Khadija El Kharraz Alami

Fri May 15 17:30

Reading Groups are an opportunity to engage with important books from contemporary literature that inspire artists performing at SPRING. Through collective reading and open conversation, you can explore these works together with the makers themselves.

Reading Group with Michael Turinsky

Michael Turinsky

Thu May 21 17:30

Reading Groups are an opportunity to engage with important books from contemporary literature that inspire artists performing at SPRING. Through collective reading and open conversation, you can explore these works together with the makers themselves.

RIDDEN

Leu Wijee & Mio Ishida

Sat 16 May 21:00 & Sun May 17 15:00

Ridden—Indonesian: ditunggangi; Japanese: 憑依—refers to the invisible energy resting on one’s shoulders. In this sensory performance, Leu and Mio remix years of research on the human-environment relationship after a disaster. They transform it into a form of dance that oscillates between ritual, sport, and band performance. Between destruction and renewal, this work explores the human relationship with nature and the strange, endless cycle of just trying to survive. 

SHRINE

Khadija El Kharraz Alami

Sun May 17 19:30

A compelling performance about grief, rage, and radical resistance. After her mother is brutally murdered by 'the system,' the battle-worn Daughter seeks refuge with the Jinns—non-human beings from a parallel world. In their SHRINE, her anger and sorrow are given the space to exist. It is a place of remembrance, prayer, sacrifice, and celebration. El Kharraz Alami takes us into a world where past, present, and future converge. 

SoftMachine: The Return

Choy Ka Fai

Fri May 22 21:00

A decade after their first encounter, two Asian artists reunite. Through a blend of dance, documentary, and monologue, Surjit (India) and Rianto (Indonesia) explore how their bodies and homelands have evolved. From political resilience in India to the complexities of gender in Indonesia: SoftMachine: The Return is an honest, radical self-portrait. It captures a generation growing old together while redefining the future of Asian contemporary dance. 

SPRING Academy Trajectories

Fri May 15 till Sat May 23

Want to discover more about contemporary performing arts? Join SPRING Academy! We organise lectures with creators, reading groups, masterclasses, workshops and artistic exchanges. Meet fellow professionals, connect with artists and discover new impulses and trends within the field. The SPRING Academy Trajectories are for anyone with a practice in the performing arts, who is studying or has studied in the humanities, who is self-taught, an activist or researcher, and for anyone interested in delving deeper into the SPRING programme.

Stina Force

Stina Force

Sat May 23 22:00

Stina Force is a one-woman punk band you have to experience live. Every performance is unique, with improvised vocals, grotesque monologues, and raw drumming. Feel the tension, wit, and relentless energy from the first beat to the end, created in the moment between artist and audience.  

SWEAT (anthem)

Milla Koistinen, DANCE ON Ensemble

Fri May 15 21:00

SWEAT (anthem) explores resilience and endurance, where determination becomes a quiet form of protest. Moving between vulnerability and strength, individuality and collectivity, it asks how to persevere and stay empathetic in times of unrest. The work transforms exhaustion into shared rhythm — an anthem of defiance and joy. 

Sweet Spot

Harald Beharie

Sat May 16 19:00 & Sun May 17 18:00 uur

Six performers pull you into Sweet Spot, a restless whirlwind of dance and sound. Drawing on the myths of Norwegian folk, a chain dance spirals into an alluring current where dances and fleeting fictions surface and submerge. With the haunting tones of the Hardanger fiddle, this queer performance explores the body as a site for ambivalence – where identity and power are constantly negotiated and mutating.

The Bench (by accident)

ashleyho+domenikaue

Thu May 21 19:00 & Fri May 22 19:00

This interdisciplinary performance entangles dance, sound, poetry, and design, taking you on a long walk. Two people agree to meet, but lose their sense of direction. Between moments of meeting and not meeting, they navigate a landscape of loneliness and longing. The Bench (by accident) is not about arriving. It is about what can be found when you get lost, completely.

The Meeting

Maarten Heijnens

Thu May 12 til Sun May 17 08:00-20:00

The Meeting is a performative installation that explores how we experience closeness and distance. Amid the rush of passing travelers, you are invited to pause and truly meet the other and yourself. Through light, sound, and interaction, the boundaries between the world around you and your own inner world momentarily dissolve.

The quiet

Anthony van Gog

Wed May 20 21:00, Thu May 21 19:00, Fri May 22 16:00

What happens when a body is no longer required to perform, but simply allowed to be? In this performative installation, three performers lie on an elevated platform. They breathe, tremble and tense. Through subtle sound and intimate lighting, minimal movements become tangible. Not a conventional performance, but a quiet, sensory experience of the body in its purest form.

Topic Talk: Citizenship through Spectatorship

Sun May 17 16:30

Topic talks are in-depth conversations on SPRING themes: current topics that matter. What trends do we see in the contemporary performing arts field and what do they mean for the world around us? We will share more about the content of this programme with you soon.

Topic Talk: Resisting Bodies

Sat May 16 17:00

Topic talks are in-depth conversations on SPRING themes: current topics that matter. What trends do we see in the contemporary performing arts field and what do they mean for the world around us? We will share more about the content of this programme with you soon.

Topic Talk: Transhumanism: To Fear or to Follow?

Sat May 23 17:00

Topic talks are in-depth conversations on SPRING themes: current topics that matter. What trends do we see in the contemporary performing arts field and what do they mean for the world around us? We will share more about the content of this programme with you soon.

Topic Talk: Who Tells the Story? Art, Power and Shared Histories

Fri May 22 17:00

Topic talks are in-depth conversations on SPRING themes: current topics that matter. What trends do we see in the contemporary performing arts field and what do they mean for the world around us? We will share more about the content of this programme with you soon.

Wait To Be Seated

She She Pop & Sandbox Collective

Thu May 14 18:00 & Fri May 15 18:30

What does it mean to host, and what does it mean to be a guest? In Wait To Be Seated, two feminist collectives meet on stage in an unscripted theatrical encounter. Starting from opposite positions, they challenge the rules of hospitality while searching for ways to meet in the middle. 

What Will We Do Without Exile?

Basel Zaraa

Thu May 14 12:00-18:00, Fri May 15 til Sun May 17 12:00-21:00

What Will We Do Without Exile? is an immersive installation that reveals a lush Palestinian world hidden inside a refugee tent. It invites audiences to imagine life beyond occupation. Take a seat among orange and olive trees, listen to a future soundscape, and experience hope, resilience, and liberation.

Work Body

Michael Turinsky

Tue May 19 20:30 & Wed May 20 19:00

This performance explores what it means to be a worker nowadays, and which bodies are allowed to represent the working class. Through singing, text, and dance, a body often pushed to the margins claims space on stage. Raw, energetic, and politically charged, the dance becomes an act of resistance.