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Crossing Border presenteert: Ali Smith

in gesprek met dramaturg Remco van Rijn
Wed 17 Sep 20:15
Wed 17 Sep 2025
20:15

Ali Smith wrote the critically acclaimed and award-winning seasonal quartet Autumn, Winter, Spring, and Summer between 2016 and 2020. Four novels about the changing climate and a Western world in flux. The quartet, set in the United Kingdom, begins shortly after the Brexit referendum and ends just before the actual departure from the EU. At the heart of the story is the centenarian Daniel Glück, whose life story, filled with extraordinary encounters, echoes throughout the 20th century.

Last year, director Eric de Vroedt adapted the quartet for Het Nationale Theater into the stage production De Seizoenen (The Seasons). This autumn, the play will be performed across the country. That’s why we’re diving into Ali Smith’s work and world: what were her ideas when she began the quartet? How did she transform reality into literature? And how can art give us hope?

Naturally, we’ll also look at the books she wrote after the quartet, especially Gliff, the first part of a diptych whose concluding volume will be released this autumn.

Ali Smith will be in conversation with Remco van Rijn, dramaturg at Het Nationale Theater and closely involved in the creation of De seizoenen. You can read more (in Dutch) about the play and get your tickets here:

Performance 'De Seizoenen'

About Ali Smith

Ali Smith (1962) grew up in Inverness, Scotland. She studied English language and literature at the universities of Aberdeen and Cambridge. After graduating, she briefly worked as a university lecturer in Scottish, English, and American literature.

In 1995, she published her first short story collection, Free Love and Other Stories, which immediately won awards. Two years later came her debut novel, Like. From then on, her titles followed in quick succession, with many books nominated for or winning literary prizes.

Ali Smith is openly queer and left-wing. Her work often addresses political themes such as gender equality, refugee issues, and the consequences of Brexit. She also explores these topics in her journalism, including for The Guardian and The New Statesman. But as a writer, she is also passionately devoted to the many possibilities that language and literature offer: her novels are rich with puns, wordplay, and literary references.

The interview will be in English.

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Over 'De Seizoenen'

De seizoenen is een grootse theatermarathon naar de boeken Herfst, Winter, Lente en Zomer van Ali Smith. In haar sprankelende romans verweeft de Schotse auteur grote maatschappelijke veranderingen met intieme persoonlijke verhalen. Regisseur Eric de Vroedt brengt haar poëtische taal tot leven in een volledig verzorgde theater-ervaring. De seizoenen is een duizelingwekkende theatertrip vol hartveroverende vriendschappen, levendige natuurbeelden, vergeten kunstenaars en inspirerend verzet. Bij De seizoenen maak je in één dag een heel jaar mee.

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