In this visual and physical performance, Newcomer Collective UMA takes on the inevitable. Because although every human being unexpectedly has to deal with death, in the Netherlands we prefer to give our mortality as little space as possible in our lives. In Burning Sweetgrass, UMA tackles this big topic with polyphonic part-song and rousing dance, to find an answer to the all-important question: how can we live with death?

Stuttering conversations in the auditorium, whispers over cake and coffee, a slideshow of photos where no one knows whether crying out loud is appropriate; people rarely behave so uncomfortably as at a funeral. What is the richness or poverty of the rituals we have created around death? How does the subdued, sometimes humorously framed Dutch sobriety compare with other cultures such as Creole and Indonesian? Where are you when you die and what role do the dead play in the lives of the living? In a highly physical performance musically inspired by gamelan, organ music and Japanese advertising tunes, UMA takes the audience on a journey into death.

About the makers
UMA made its debut within the talent development programme Orkater/Newcomers in 2022 with Oroonoko. In it, the musical theatre collective combined widely divergent musical genres; English court music, Surinamese kawina and electronic beats and let them flow organically into each other. In Burning Sweetgrass , UMA develops this signature further: the collective unites Creole and Indonesian ritual music and synthetic requiems in an exciting new musical genre.

About Orkater/De Nieuwkomers
Within the talent development programme Orkater/De Nieuwkomers, young musicians and theatre makers turn their ideas into music theatre productions. Based on an open call, makers are selected to present their plans to Orkater and programmers and peers who have committed to the programme as alliance partners. Burning Sweetgrass is the 28th production within Orkater/De Nieuwkomers.

For 50 years, Orkater has been the music theatre company of the Netherlands, telling stories that matter now and where music has as much value as language. Orkater productions are direct, sensitive, daring and generous.