Sahand Sahebdivani shares a few stories about his father from the Mezrab kitchen — a place where Ali-Reza cooked hundreds and thousands of pots of red lentil soup.
Every month, Mezrab team picks a theme and asks people to share their thoughts on the subject! In this video, we are talking about hope. 🙂
Elyzabeth Gorman shares a story about Pride in Amsterdam: what happens nowadays, and how it all started.
Listen to this amazing cover by Yinske Silva of Sam Cooke’s A Change is Gonne Come. What a voice and what a passion. Carrying her is the piano playing of Rogier van der Zwaan.
They did it again! They Knights of Love are back with a new song, all written and performed in their own lockdown locations, culminating in this funky jam:
What does a writer like Canan do when they find themselves in a situation that angers and scares them? When you have so much to write about but the words won’t come?
Gus is a Mezrab regular with a love of historical stories. Here he tells us the funny and tragic history of how European scientists discovered what most already knew: Wash your hands!
One of the things we miss about our physical location is hosting our monthly Club Amsterdam Klezmer nights. These guys are immortal.
Here’s a video that Anastasis made for the Mezrab live show. An improvised song that came together when each of the quarantined members improvised their lines from home:
We tell ourselves a lot of stories to make sense of our lives. Sometimes these stories take on a live of their own. Listen to Anastasis unpack one of the myths he grew up with.
Many of the storytellers who tell in the Mezrab have other interesting jobs. Some are teachers, tour guides, IT specialists and so much more. Bipin has a bit of a different field of work:
Esra tells us a story of her best friend. The one who developed breasts, before she did, and discovered boys, before she did.
As we’re preparing for the next show here’s something special for you. A video of Mama Mezrab making the famous Ash soup. Feel like trying it to create that Mezrab mood at home?
Sometimes transformation takes place in unexpected places. Here’s a story of one that took place in a Turkish Hammam:
Mezrab founder Sahand tells us a story of the very particular dread you felt growing up in the 1990ies. A time we miss and also are happy are behind us:
Margo van de Linde looks back on her childhood and reflects on how much her impression of Zwarte Piet has changed since then.
Sahand and Raphael open Amsterdam Storytelling Festival 2020 with stories about their mothers and rebirth. The show is accompanied by music and songs by Haytham Safia and Yinske Silva.
Another edition of Sahand and Raphael’s quarantine conversations: this time, they tackle the subject of love. Can we all love each other just as much if we have to keep the distance between us?
Raphael and Sahand continue their online conversations in times of isolation. In this episode they talk about the meaning of home.
You might know Sahand and Raphael from their nights in the Mezrab, here’s the first video they made as an artistic response to the lockdown:
Faarjam is a Dutch-Iranian superstar, and a friend of the Mezrab! Here’s the song Ba Chashmanam (with my eyes), that he performed on our stage. Turn the volume up!
This video is an olden goldie. In fact, it’s the first video we recorded to put on our YouTube channel. It has the UK heavy weight storyteller Peter Chand doing a delicious folk tale:
The insane genius of Mezrab is Chidi. A storyteller and host with an incomparable style. Apart from his stage performances he has been producing creative videos for your enjoyment:
If you’re done listening to stories for the day here’s something completely different. 5 years ago we were visited by the Faran ensemble, here’s the full concert!
This relatively older video is recorded a while ago, when we hadn’t put on the black curtains yet. A younger, more innocent age, when master theater maker Ogutu Muraya still lived in Amsterdam!
Lara is the child of an intensely atheistic father and a Mayan spiritual mother. How does the child of this meeting end up? Listen to her warm and funny story to find out:
As all people who saw the premiere episode of Mezrab TV know, this song is going to blow up. Have a listen at the anthem of our times!
Lubna is not only a Mezrab fan from the very first location we had, here she absolutely rocks the Open Stage!
So, if you’re Indian you should pretty much own going to a meditation retreat right? Not like white people who have to pay for it. Rohit learned the hard way it’s not exactly true.
Milda brings us a story about how we grow in life. From one activity to the next. And who when we get stuck all knowing Google swoops in for the rescue.
Naming a new puppy is tricky business. But how do you deal with your mother wanting to name her new dog after the new boyfriend of your ex?
Esra’s second story in our audio library is the story of the bald girl, a character her Turkish mother used to tell her. A story that served her well when she grew up:
Abhishek is a magical storyteller. In this story he takes us to a day in which he had left everything behind. Studies, family, hometown. Even the familiarity of the earth under his feet:
On our Samizdat many storytellers bring narratives of rebellion and fleeing wars. Gus brought a story of a hero not everyone would expect on this night.
There isn’t quite anyone with a style that can be compared to Chidi’s. His absurd stories actually reveal a reality that goes deeper than the one we can observe:
Soula brings us back to Greece. Not because that’s where her roots lie, but because that’s where she had to travel to bury her father. A precious and surprisingly funny story:
How does it feel indeed, when a song you hear reveals some inner truths about yourself. Listen to the warm voice of Anastasis and let him take you on a journey of self discovery:
Most Amsterdammers know Farnoosh as a theater maker, less know her for her ability to speak sign language. A precious skill that made her make sense of one of the world’s strangest incidents:
Rimousky tells us the story of meeting her toxic twin. An impressive tail of Amsterdam romance, involving cigarettes, alcohol and a burn spot on an inconvenient place.
Marijn tells us the story of a one night stand with unforseen consequenses. A surprisingly touching story of love, jealousy and ultimately, growing up to be our better selves:
Rob is a performer with an encyclopedic knowledge of music. Which is great for personal stories, because anything he remembers comes back to him with the soundrack of the times:
From time to time comedians make a venture into the world of storytelling. Here’s Roxy JC’s first try. Since then she’s become a familiar face on the Mezrab carpet:
Milda is a valued Mezrab member, who left behind a country to dive into her passion of storytelling. It’s good that the same stories can bring back to life those we left at home:
Ilya tells us a story about love that puts all of our love lifes to shame. Does anyone actually live this? Well, if there’s anyone it must be Ilya:
Marijn is a big man with an even bigger heart. Here he tells us the story of a little man that for him is the biggest hero he’s ever met:
Esra’s brother is a precious one. Here she tells the story of one of the most impressive days of his life, meeting a personal hero.
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