The Almighty Sometimes | Theater Oostpool

Director Daria Bukvić is back in Dutch theaters with award-winning play about a brilliant teenage girl with mental health problems.

Emotional journey to maturity

The just-adult Anna (Selin Akkulak) has been dealing with mental health problems since she was eight years old. For most of her life she has had a "label" for which she has been in therapy and taking heavy medication. Anna wants to write, but her fantastic stories are seen not only as expressions of her creativity, but also as evidence of her mental state. At the same time, she is also still an adolescent who can be harsh and ruthless to those close to her. Now that Anna is of age, she wants to take the opportunity to become more independent from her mother (Maartje Remmers) and psychiatrist (Renée Soutendijk). The two women have always protected Anna and now realize they must let her go. Against the advice of those around her, Anna stops taking her medication; an action that has enormous consequences for her and everyone she loves.

Who am I without my medications?

The Almighty Sometimes is a compelling story that takes you through all the doubts and dilemmas that exist around growing up with a mental health backpack and the question "to take pills or not to take them? It is the story of a young woman fighting for her autonomy and wondering which part of her is really her own and which part is caused by her medication. A performance about unconditional mother-daughter love, but also about how hard it is to live with a child with depression - and the feeling of never being able to get it right.

"When I read this play, I immediately felt the potential impact of the ironclad women's roles and current issues about young girls' mental health. Especially the glimpses into the genius brain of main character Anna and the constant worries of her mother will not leave anyone unmoved. The play is a mugshot full of pain and love." | Daria Bukvić

Kendall Feaver

Australian writer Kendall Feaver (b. 1990) won multiple awards and prizes with her play The Almighty Sometimes, including the prestigious Judges Award of the 2015 Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting - the largest competition for playwriting in Europe.

Daria Bukvić

Director Daria Bukvić (b. 1989) made such successful crowd-pleasers as Nobody Home, Othello, Milk & Dates and the cinema hit Meskina. In 2021, she joined Theater Oostpool as artistic director. Here she made such plays as the lauded Girls and Boys (2021) for which lead actress Hadewych Minis won a Theo d'Or in 2022 and the multidisciplinary theater spectacle Midsummer Night's Dream (2022).