About Tjerk Ridder
Turn towards the sun
Tjerk Ridder is a theatre maker, singer-songwriter and writer as well as a traveler, storyteller and inspiration. His travels through Europe resulted in theatre performances, books and songs.
Tjerk sings and shares stories about universal topics and themes as part of the human journey. What steps do you take, what choices do you make? What does it take to connect you with others?
How can you follow your heart? Where do you find the courage to do things that you have never done before, that no one was even done before?
dingen te doen die je nog nooit eerder deed, die zelfs nog niemand eerder deed?
How do you find the balance between taking care of yourself and being there for others? Due to global crises these topics have only become more urgent.
Tjerk made three journeys, resulting in three theatre performances with the same title: Towbar Needed!, Traces of Freedom and Bonne Route! He published two books, Towbar Needed! and Bonne Route!in which he writes about his adventures and experiences.The books are also a music streaming album.
Tjerk Ridder has performed at theater festivals such as De Parade, Lowlands, Oerol, Crossing Border, Noorderzon and the World Expo. His performances are also available in German and English. Abroad, he performed in Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Turkey, China and Japan.
After his education at the theatre schools of Amsterdam and Utrecht, Tjerk was invited to perform in Japan for two months, where he took lessons in karate and Japanese dance and gave improvisation theatre workshops. He was confronted with living from Eastern collective thinking and doing, versus Western individualism.
From life stories, you can learn a lot about trial and error and how you move more into your own direction. What have I got to offer the world and how can I tune in with others?
He received the Pax Duif for connecting people and showing solidarity, out of the hands of Sharon Dijksma, mayor of Utrecht, as well as Le Prix de Partage Européen, a prize of the European cultural route Saint Martin de Tours.
'We need others to travel the road we aspire to follow.'
Tjerk Ridder
Travel with us, come to a performance!
