Toneelgroep Amsterdam (with small t) has to give up a new name

The actors’ collective theater group Amsterdam has to give its name back. The International Theater Amsterdam (ITA) has announced this in an angry letter. The ITA claims to own the name Toneelgroep Amsterdam (in capital letters).

If the actors’ collective does not relinquish the name before next Thursday, legal action will follow, reports AT5/NH News.

The small actors’ collective De Warme Winkel took over the name of the large Toneelgroep Amsterdam on 22 March. The name had been released, De Warme Winkel reasoned, when the old Toneelgroep Amsterdam merged with the Stadsschouwburg four years ago and started calling itself International Theater Amsterdam.

‘They would say no’

“They have grown out of their Toneelgroep Amsterdam coat. We want to pick up that coat from the ground with great reverence and respect and give it a second life,” said Ward Weemhoff of the actors’ collective in March† The name change was not discussed with ITA. “We knew they would say no,” said Weemhoff.

It turns out, because now there is that angry letter. “The name ‘Toneelgroep Amsterdam’ is owned by ITA and is not free to use by third parties,” the theater writes. The theater group must relinquish its name before Thursday, June 16 at noon.

A petition

The acting collective is a petition started to avert fate: “Help us tell that the legacy van Toneelgroep Amsterdam with a big T does not have to compete with the narrative of theater group Amsterdam with a small t. Help us uncover layers of theatrical history and not lose this beautiful name, which stands for gogme and anarchy.”

It is still unclear what the petition, even if it is massively signed, will achieve. Weemhoff hopes that a costly lawsuit will in any case be averted. “We are a small club and a lawsuit would not be responsible for us,” he says.

Reversing the name change is complicated, he says. “The name ‘theatergroep Amsterdam’ is already on so many posters and has been taken over by the media. I feel like we are standing in front of a ravine and don’t know where to go. There is no plan B.”

–