Kiss of the Spider Woman

Benno Barends created the lighting design for the performance Kiss of the Spider Woman. Opus One brought new life into the Zonnehuis in Amsterdam-Noord with this performance. Benno Barends was given a lot of freedom by director Koen van Dijk to flesh out the lightingdesign. For example, Benno made a difference between dream/present/past and reality through lots of color in the dreams to very cold light in the cell where the main characters are. For the title track Kiss of the Spider Woman, Benno created a web of light.

Photo: Neeltje Knaap

Volkskrant: An exciting lighting design finishes it off.

Kiss of the Spider Woman tells the story of two prisoners placed together in a small cell. Some because of their political beliefs, others because of their orientation. They are each other’s opposites, but also – literally – condemned to each other. Both dream of a better life outside prison. To pass the time, one tells of Hollywood movies from his youth in which the mysterious Spider Woman plays a major role. The other tells of his great love. Slowly an understanding of each other develops. But what happens when one is then pressured to betray the other in exchange for his own freedom?

Nominations

‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’ received 5 Musical Award nominations. Both lead actors Alex Klaasen and René van Kooten were nominated, as well as Frans Heemskerk for his musical adaptation and Koen van Dijk who was responsible for translation and direction. It also received the Best Small Musical nomination.

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Cast & Creatives