Could your car become a star for an Amsterdam theatre group?

Have you got an old beater clogging up space in your carport that you’d love to get out of your hair?

You could send it to the nearest wrecking yard or you could donate it to De Warme Winkel, an Amsterdam-based theatrical group. They’re currently looking for no less than 35 old cars to ‘sacrifice’ this summer at the Amsterdam Bostheater, an outdoor theatre in the usually serene Amsterdamse Bos.

The cars are set to be destroyed during Het Zomeroffer, a production inspired by The Rite of Spring, the ballet written by Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. In exchange for allowing their vehicle to play the lead role in front of up to 1,400 spectators, donors will be given 20 free tickets to its ‘final ride’ along with other perks.

Marketing manager Lisa Groot said they’ve received nineteen donations so far but was cagey when asked exactly how these old lemons will be turned into theatrical lemonade.

“Of course, I cannot reveal how the cars will be sacrificed,” she told Dutch News. “The ceremony is the heart of the performance. In any case, there will be nothing left or at least not much left.”

Traditional productions of The Rite of Spring feature the staged sacrifice of a young maiden during a pagan ceremony in its second half. The ‘chosen one’ typically pretends to dance herself to death in front of a group of sages. Whether or not the cars will be made to ‘dance’ during Het Zomeroffer is another detail being kept under wraps.

While Groot revealed little about the logistics of the production, she made it clear the group will follow all the necessary regulations.

“We adhere to all the rules while we are in the Amsterdamse Bostheater,” she said. “There are performances and concerts there every summer and many are supported nationally and regionally by the government.”

The theme of Het Zomeroffer is at the very least a hot topic. The effects of climate change have become increasingly apparent in recent years and car culture continues to receive much of the blame. De Warme Winkel said on their website they don’t hate these vehicles and actually love the personal freedom they provide.

Sacrifice

“We know that sacrificing one car will not save the world, but for us it is the ultimate gesture,” a statement on the site said. “A sacrifice is only successful if you sacrifice something you love. The car is the symbol of the depletion of the earth through the use and combustion of raw materials. So we sacrifice a car every evening for 35 performances.”

Tickets for Het Zomeroffer could go fast. De Drie Musketiers, another one of the group’s productions, broke attendance records at the theatre in 2019 and later toured the Netherlands and Belgium. Peepshow Palace, a ‘Coronaproof’ theatre they built in Amsterdam during the lockdowns also made headlines and hosted 120 performances and concerts during the pandemic.

Tickets go on sale for Het Zomeroffer on 8 April and the performances will take place between 25 June and 10 August.