I've been so busy enjoying the Over Het Ij Theater festival I haven't had time to write about it.

Until Now.

Just a quick free ferry ride from Central Station to NDSM in the north and you will find yourself surrounded by strange and wonderful energy. From the moment you walk onto the festival grounds you'll notice the shipping containers with little signs "Next Show in 10 min", people will then buy a 2 euro ticket and fill the container. They then close the doors and inside you come face to face with great amateur and professional actors. Some containers don't have much of anything, some are wall to wall grass and greenery, others are a mystery as I ran out of 2 euro coins and couldn't peek inside.

Rounding the corner past the restaurant/bar serving up yummy brownies and mint tea just the way I like them, I see an audience where each person has headphones on. They're all staring at a guy with dreadlocks who is arguing with someone on his mobile phone. My brain slowly puts together the scenario, they are listening only to his conversation, which I can't hear as I don't have headphones and Im standing too far away.

I finally get to the theater piece I'm there to watch, which involves sitting on one side of a canal while on the other 2 performers use no words to do their play. Occasionally a boat that has nothing to do with the play floats between we the audience and the play itself, the audience giggles. We are each handed binoculars to get a closer look at the performers across the canal. At the end one actress holds up a small wooden sign that reads "end".

While the Over Het Ij festival features mostly content in Dutch, I still highly recommend the atmosphere and the performances. You see some incredible creations, as well as plays that don't require you to understand the language.

The festival continues from now til July 12th. If you have even a small chance to get there, GO!