Rob Murray takes the reins at Amsterdam Fringe

News broke today that South African theatremaker Rob Murray has been appointed as the new artistic director of the Amsterdam Fringe Festival.

Rob, who has over the last two decades worked in pretty much every capacity possible in South African theatre – performer, founder and artistic director of award-winning theatre company From The Hip: Kulumakahle, director of award-winning shows, technician, fundraiser etc. – takes over from Anneke Jansen who decided to step back after steering the Amsterdam Fringe for its first ten years.

His appointment is partly a result of the National Arts Festival reaching out internationally and being integral to the formation of the World Fringe Alliance four years ago, which includes Amsterdam Fringe as arguably its most active partner with NAF, but also links Edinburgh, Brighton, Adelaide, Perth, New York, Hollywood and Prague fringe festivals.

It was the formation of these links that allowed Rob, in the capacity of director, to take Crazy in Love to Amsterdam Fringe in 2014, where it won Best Production of the fringe that year, and took Piet se Optelgoed this year. A number of other South African shows have also been staged in Amsterdam since 2011.

Thus having experienced Amsterdam and the Amsterdam Fringe, Rob gave it a shot when Anneke’s position was advertised.

During a conversation in September, when he told Critter he has applied for the job, he described it as a ‘shooting for the moon’.

Well, it was a shot that has paid off. Rob will be packing up his life in Grahamstown where he has been working on his PhD and emigrating to Amsterdam.

Having been flown over there last week for interviews, he only got back to Grahamstown last night (Sunday) but has already been put to work.

He said he had the final interview for the job on Wednesday last week and about 20 minutes later he was told he had the job.

“It was a round of hugs and congratulations and then I had to go straight into a planning meeting.”

Anneke, who will be staying on until January 1 to give Rob a crash course in the last ten years of the Amsterdam Fringe, laughed about Rob being put straight to work.

“It was a little bit of Dutchness there. It was, ok, we have a meeting now, sit down, this is Rob, your new artistic director… We plunged him right in and let him catch his breath afterwards.”

After having to keep his secret for five days until the official announcement, Rob says the congratulations are flooding in. His phone must have beeped in the background at least every 90 seconds while he chatted to Critter over Skype.

He says it’s been a crazy week and getting the job “is a total life changer”.

He’s only going to undergo the permanent move to Amsterdam about February next year but has to return in two weeks time to take part in planning the 2016 festival which will take place in September. Also in the works is a “full analysis of the industry (in The Netherlands) and fringe and how it all fits together, and putting together a four-year-plan”. “It’s exciting,” he says while his washing machine grinds on the background and his phone registers another incoming message.

He’s really excited about being in the position to steer the Amsterdam Fringe now that it is an established festival with a ten-year legacy, combined with the fact that it’s partly his outsider eye that he has been hired for and he is expected to put it to use.

“It’s a fascinating time in the industry where one can actually be there and steer it and guide it and provoke.”

With fringe as a platform that encourages freedom, experimentation and inter-disciplinary collaboration, it is able to sit at the cutting edge of contemporary culture, and with Europe now dealing with migration and having to come to terms with multi-culturism, Rob’s own multi-cultural work in South Africa was one of the aces up his sleeve.

“(Fringe) is a community of culture in change, particularly in Amsterdam and (elsewhere in) europe. Fringe can lead the way. They set their stall out as a place that deals with outside interests and marginalised groups and they pride themselves on working from the ground up, which, coming from South Africa, is second nature.

“Let’s use the platform to talk about stuff that’s going on, a platform that prides itself on freedom and artistic expression and all of that. Bring it.”

There’s also the potential for expanding international collaboration.

“Anneke has been suggesting people move toward each other. I would like to see that continue on a more international scale. There’s so much room for cross cultural exchange that is very very exciting and that’s one of the things that really keeps me moving forward, seeing those links, connecting people and ideas.”

Anneke, Skyping from Berlin, said she had nothing to do with Rob’s appointment as she wasn’t on the committee, but is very happy with the committee’s choice.

“It’s very cool. It’s very good for the Amsterdam Fringe.”

She said Rob having brought work to the Amsterdam Fringe for two years meant he was familiar with the fringe and had a strong sense of how it works and what makes it work.

Additionally, the fact Rob has worked at so many different levels in theatre means he “has a clear idea of what the artists are doing, what they’re risking, what’s at stake for them. A sense of how much work they put into it.”

She said for the Amsterdam Fringe it is “very interesting” that someone from outside Europe is able to bring a fresh perspective on what is going on in Europe.

“It’s a very refreshing idea to get someone in who is not tied to the cultural scene here per se, who is independent of the politics and can sometimes kick it a little in the ass.”

— Steve Kretzmann