Performance The Shell Case

• Date: 05 June
• Time 20:00 uur - 21:20
• Location: Koninklijke SchouwburgGrote zaal

Bureau Vergezicht

The last white male rhino has died. Forest fires, floods, and record temperatures are the order of the day. So why is so little progress being made in solving the climate crisis?

The award-winning play De zaak Shell (The Shell Case) is back in theaters in an updated version. In the play by Anoek Nuyens and Rebekka de Wit, we see the main players in the climate debate explain in razor-sharp pleas why they do what they do: Shell, consumers, the government, citizens, and a young generation concerned about their future. In five monologues, actors Jaap Spijkers (winner of the Arlecchino award), Janneke Remmers, and Musia Mwankumi (nominated for the Colombina award) see responsibility being shifted from one party to another. In this way, De zaak Shell subtly shows that the climate crisis is ultimately a crisis of responsibility.

The play was inspired by the lawsuit filed by Milieudefensie against Shell. The aim of the case: to force Shell to radically change its business practices. Shell's defense? It's not us, but consumers who need to change. Nevertheless, the court ruled that companies do indeed have a responsibility, but was unable to attach any legal obligation to this and passed the buck back to politicians. And politicians, in turn, point to citizens.

Nuyens and De Wit have been following the climate debate closely for years and are determined to see this case through. They attended shareholder meetings of multinationals, read Shell's speeches and interviews, pored over government agreements and policy documents, and systematically noted the comments of their uncles and aunts during Christmas dinner. With all this input, they developed and wrote De zaak Shell (The Shell Case). The updated version includes the appeal ruling and the latest developments.

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