"Der Kämpfer" (the fighter)

Der Kämpfer tells the story in three scenes of a son who wants to feel connected to a father who never learned how to do so.

When Michael hears that his father Jan has received a life-threatening diagnosis, he wants to support him. But Jan does not want help, especially not from his son, who constantly makes him feel that he is doing everything wrong. Even though Jan seems to be building a real bond with his new girlfriend Sara, he is proud of fighting his way through it alone. Michael, on the other hand, sees his father's ideals not as positive independence, but as loneliness. How much change is still possible in the time that remains?

The play is inspired by experiences with Zanger's own father and explores images of masculinity across different generations – critically, but lovingly. With this play, Zanger is making his directing debut at Theater Aachen (DE) at the end of his studies at Toneelacademie Maastricht (NL).

director                                                    Juri Zanger

ass. director                                           Elise Ogrinc
stage and costume design              Franziska Leonie Keller and Ylke Siemensma

dramaturgy                                            Taale Frese and Kerstin Grübmeyer
light design                                            Manuel Michels, Juri Zanger
sound design                                        Juri Zanger, Davis Groza
dramaturgy                                            Taale Frese and Kerstin Grübmeyer
'inspizienz'                                             Tom Meyer
'bühnenmeister'                                  Christoph Franzen
directional advice                               Eva Lemaire
actors & actresses                               Thomas Hamm, Maurice Läbe, Petya Alabozova

presentations

february 20th, 2026, 08:00pm at Theater Aachen

march 1st, 2026, 06:00pm at Theater Aachen

march 11th, 2026, 08:00pm at Theater Aachen

language: German
to reserve tickets, go to the Website of Theater Aachen

"hoop voor de toekomst" (hope for the future)

content soon to be announced

director                                                    Juri Zanger
production                                             Kyra Antoni

creative team                                        Jonas Coppus, Kyra Antoni, Kyra Frijnts, 
                                                                     Ruchir Kathusing, Kyra Kay van de Watering, 
                                                                     Rowshuan Pikero, Limme Zwaan de Jong
directional advice                               Jurrien van Rheenen

presentations

april 23rd, 2026, 07:00pm at Toneelacademie Maastricht

april 24th, 2026, 07:00pm at Toneelacademie Maastricht

april 25th, 2026, 04:00pm at Toneelacademie Maastricht

language: Dutch
ticketing will go online soon

"scènes uit een huwelijk, scène 1"

Ingmar Bergmans "Scenes from a marriage" from 1973 is a story about a couple who grapples with their relationship as it disintegrates. The prospect of facing their end forces them to confront their history, their partnership, and themselves as they try to disentangle from the fraying identity that they have built together.

More than 50 years later, we are living in a time of many different possibilities when it comes to relationship-concepts. Therapy and knowledge about good communication became a lot more accessible, emotional literacy is higher - especially in younger demographics, and relationships are more and more tailor-made to the specific needs of individuals. This is the time, in which Juri Zanger places Marianne, the main character from "Scenes from a marriage". She looks back into her past in which she still was together with Johan, the other main character from the play. In her mind, she examines in a reenactment the first scene of the play, questioning her relationship back then. She asks herself in what ways she could have had agency to make different choices or communicate better had she known then what she knows now about herself, her dreams, boundaries and needs, and him. And she also has to face where she may have been powerless, living in a much more patriarchal world, confronted by a husband who finds it difficult to share with vulnerability about his perspective, his emotions and his dreams or boundaries.

director                                                    Juri Zanger

dramaturgy and ass. director       Merel Snoeks     

directional advice                               Lynn Schutter
actors & actresses                               Jonnah Lee Goldberg, Emilio Pramatarov,

                                                                     Josephine Arendsen, Rover Wouters

presentations

february 27th, 2025, 02:00pm at Toneelacademie Maastricht

"my childhood is a city on fire"

This performance is about a psychological mechanism in children who had to take on more responsibility than they could carry in their childhood: They often get the feeling that they are guilty, that they couldn’t help their parents or themselves well enough, when in reality they may just have been powerless. To them, it seems to be easier to accept their guilt, because then at least they had some kind of control over the situation.

co-creator                                               Juri Zanger, Anne Chris van Doesburg

director, concept, light, stage       Juri Zanger

music, costume                                    Anne Chris van Doesburg

directional advice                               Lotte Milder, Karlijn Milder
performers                                             Anne Chris van Doesburg, Valerie Ludwig

operasingers                                         Dimitris Christoforou, Nora Tarraf

helping hands                                      Jodie Cranen, Zippora Peters, Bik

presentations                                      

december 13th, 2024, at Toneelacademie Maastricht