Hotel Modern and Abdelkader Benali join forces in The Fall of Granada, a historical performance full of storytelling, puppets, shadow play, live animation and music.
For seven hundred years, the south of Spain was part of a prosperous Moorish kingdom, in which Muslims, Jews and Christians lived together. The arts flourished, science flourished. In 1492, this came to an end, when Catholic Spain conquered the last Moorish city: Granada. What followed was a long process of persecution and expulsion of Muslims and Jews by the Spanish Inquisition.
With spectacular shadow play and compelling storytelling, Hotel Modern and Abdelkader Benali bring the world of Granada to life: the moving stories, the dances, the painful loss and the unimaginable climax of the Fall.
In 2023, Hotel Modern met Abdelkader Benali while working for the NTR television series Jan Janszoon, Piraat van de wereld. Benali was the narrator in the series, we made animations. This series – broadcast in February 2024 – tells the story of the 17th-century Haarlem native Jan Janszoon who migrates to Morocco, makes a splash as a pirate and converts to Islam. Through conversations with Benali, Hotel Modern became interested in the rich cultural and religious exchange between North Africa and Europe and the idea arose to make The Fall of Granada together.
Theatre group Hotel Modern builds complete worlds on stage in miniature, populated by hundreds of characters. We film scenes in the models with cameras; the images are projected life-size and provided with a live soundtrack. Previously, the group made, among other things, Kamp en Shrimp Tales. The artistic core consists of actresses Pauline Kalker and Arlène Hoornweg and visual artist Herman Helle.
Abdelkader Benali (Ighazzazen, Morocco, 1975) is a writer and programme maker, and is known for his work in which he explores the themes of identity, multiculturalism and migration. He writes novels, essays, columns and plays.
