Assen Blues - Den Haag

n the last seasons, actor Ali Çifteci featured in several theater productions. It was his idea to make a theater piece that depicts the difficult relationship he has with Turkey, his country of origin. The country he is alienated from but at the same time he is still identified as being a part of. Dutch playwriter Rob de Graaf has written “Assen Blues” for Çifteci, a story about displacement.

A man and a woman are waiting for their train on a deserted platform of the train station Assen. He is on his way to Turkey, she is going to the academy in Groningen where she teaches. They start talking to each other. Initially about the differences they share, but also about similarities. The first time they let a train pass it is a big step, but soon they have the courage for more.
 
Assen Blues is about unfulfilled desires, the chance that governs our life, about the importance of 'places' in our lives - whether it's an unknown place where we want to go to or a familiar place of which we know everything.