Watching - Ceci n'est pas de deux

06/08/2025

06/07/2025

Anna Wheeler interviews award winning puppeteer Ester Natzijl about her journey to becoming a puppeteer and the creative influences behind her one-woman show...

14/06/2025

🎭Meeting Ourselves – Exploring the Human Spirit Through Puppetry"🎭

📅20th September, 2025 | Doors open: 1:30PM
📍St Oswald's Church Hall, Sowerby, near Thirsk
🚆 Easily walkable from Thirsk Rail Station (direct trains from York)

Join us for an unforgettable afternoon of performance, exploration and connection through puppetry, dance, and theatre.

Led by award-winning performer Ester Natzijl, this special event includes:

🎭A performance of her internationally acclaimed show:
Watching: This Is Not a Duet – a surreal, moving and darkly humorous piece where the lines between performer and puppet blur. A woman confronts herself through an uncanny double — a mesmerizing Being who is at once her mirror, her shadow, and something entirely other.

🧵A hands-on workshop exploring puppetry as a mirror of identity and emotion — with hand puppets and puppets made from everyday objects. No experience necessary!

💬 A Q&A session diving into themes of identity, illusion, struggle and meaning.

☕ Light refreshments provided.

Whether you're a puppeteer, dancer, theatre-maker, or just curious about how puppetry can reveal the layers of the human spirit, this event welcomes everyone aged 15+

For more info and to book 👇
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/meeting-ourselves-exploring-the-human-spirit-through-puppetry-tickets-1058494067249?aff=oddtdtcreator

Please share with anyone who loves puppetry, dance, theatre or performance art!

St Oswald's Church, Sowerby, North Yorkshire Ester Natzijl Projects Watching - Ceci n'est pas de deux

21/03/2025

🎭 It's *World Puppetry Day* today! 🎭

We have our very own puppetry event coming on Saturday 20th September with the amazing Ester Natzijl (Ester Natzijl Projects Watching - Ceci n'est pas de deux )

Watch this space for details! 👀
Yorkshire Live British Puppet Guild One Way UK Puppet Place Bean Pig Puppetry PUK - Puppeteers UK
Photographs by Arti et Amicitiae

26/02/2022

The previews of my new show ‘FINDING GRACE’ are fast approaching and I’d love you to come…

It is a tragi-comic tale about an existential, self-styled guru who thinks they can lead humanity to salvation. Through a journey of dance, text and puppetry, they will prove that ‘Grace’ is hidden in the example of the marionette. A tribute to the powers of perseverance, imagination and belief.

Inspired by the essay "On the Marionette Theatre” by Heinrich von Kleist.

With an original soundtrack created by DJ/composer Gary Shepherd (alias DJ Streamer. https://soundcloud.com/streamer and composer of http://nbprojects.nl).

The show might give neither the right answers nor direct help to anyone, but the whole experience hopefully relates in some way to your struggle in trying to make sense of your place in this challenging world.

I hope that by watching it you will feel supported and touched, and that it opens up a conversation that is important to our wellbeing…

What is 'Grace'?
What does it mean to us?
When do we experience it?
Do we actually need it?
And, how can we achieve it?

I look forward to seeing you there!

Previews of Finding Grace:
7pm on 9th and 11th March in BrightonStMary’s Church, Kemptown
I also look forward to hearing your opinions in the after talks! (with bar ! ).
Tickets: https://fienta.com/s/finding-grace
Www.esternatzijl.com

Concept, Text, Choreography and Performance: Ester Haverlikova Natzijl
Marionette: Jan Zalud
Photos and videography: Rosie Hadridge-Powell
Text Assistance, Production: Matt Rudkin
Composer, Musical Advice: Gary Shepherd
Artistic support/end-direction: Rachel Blackman
Lighting Design: Evan James Hendtlass
Early stage mentoring: Charlotte Vincent
A dramaturgical session with Lou Cope
Marionette advice: Ronnie Le Drew
Costume: Gladrags Community Costume Resource Charity
Supported by: Arts Council England, Dutch Embassy in the United Kingdom, Vincent Dance Theatre and South East Dance

With huge thanks for the all-round support from Julian Caddy and all the interviewees of the Kemptown community.

11/02/2022

09/02/2021

Students attending The Newman Dance Academy this term will get to participate in five virtual workshops lead by high level dance artists, who are experts in their own style. The fifth of these artists is Ester Natzijl.

Ester Natzijl is a dancer, performer, puppeteer, theatre-maker and teacher. Following her training in Classical Ballet and Contemporary Dance at the Royal Conservatoire of Music and Dance in The Hague, she worked with several contemporary companies, including the Netherlands Dance Theatre and Introdance, touring all over the world. She received additional training in theatre and mime, gained her MA in Theatre Science from the University of Amsterdam and simultaneously created different multi-disciplinary acts and dance theatre performances.

01/03/2020

for Benji just a month old and I'm still in a cramp but I felt proud to be back for a sec. @ Amsterdam

29/01/2020

Two more days to go! *****

Book here: https://www.theplace.org.uk/buy-tickets/295573/361840

Ester Natzijl, who recently delivered a brilliant pop-up workshop at Brighton Youth Centre (BYC) for The Welcome Project is bringing Watching - Ceci n'est pas de deux to , The Place's annual festival of new choreography and performance works by emerging artists.

This is a triple bill with D.B.2.0. by Eve &Jas and L*dyL*ke by TOBY. Buy tickets for the event on 31 January at 7.30pm here: https://www.theplace.org.uk/whats-on/toby-eve-and-jas-natzijl-projects