Photos by Lowie van der Grinten @Lowiegraphy

A musical archive of past, present & future.

I had the beautiful opportunity to craft the sound design for the devised theatre production 'Black Joy', which premiered on Feb 28th, 2026. Directed by Priscilla Vaudelle and co-produced by Theater Oostpool & Dawn Collective, this project was, for me as a sound designer, a deep dive into the essence of Black music.

With music as an active driving force, I blended curated tracks of Soul, Classic Motown, RnB, together with my own compositions, which resulted in an eclectic tapestry of music. A big player in the overall musical design of the show was the track "black joy" by Aja Monet, which musically set the undertone but also served as a Spoken Word anchor. My overall goal was to create a type of 'music mosaic' which felt like a journey through the archives of Black Music, with Aja Monet prompting the characters to reflect on their 'black experiences', and with an Afro-Futurist outlook. I also wanted to invite a sense of nostalgia, while maintaining enough space to alchemize all of the genres into something new and modern. I loved researching the Oldschool 80's and 90's sampling traditions, whereby old jazz records were resampled into something novel.

We also envisioned the stage as a sort of 'liminal space', so to make it feel more present and 'alive', I used subtle and distant mechanical sound textures to give the illusion of the space feeling larger. This gave the necessary contrast within scenes of an open space vs an intimate setting, but also ensured that the reflective silences were never really empty, only if it intentionally needed to be. I realized that sometimes, the most effective sound isn't necessarily heard upfront, but subliminally felt.

The sound pushes and pulls, moving from hard beats and popular tracks, to layered textures and warm vintage keys, evolving alongside the characters as they redefine what Black Joy truly means to them.

I'm very proud to have been part of this 'Gesamtkunstwerk' together with such an amazing and talented team.

Tickets available at BLACK JOY - Theater Oostpool

Director: @priscillavaudelle
Dramaturgy: @madelonkooijman
Dramaturgy Intern: @marit.koops
Scenography: @studiokoensteger
Lighting Designer: @varja_lights_in_theatre
Sound Designer: @sharonharman_
Hair & Makeup Design: @yara___forster
Costume Design / Styling: @esmeralda__tan
Choreography / Staging: @joanne_elaine_purperhart
Artistiek Advies: @dariabukvic & @dawnonsocial
Head of Production: @emmageertje
Production Manager: @ilzeversloot
Production Intern: @nanne.walkate
Stage Manager: Hergen Verheul  
Technical Coordinator: @densonbatteke
Light Technician: @hwhwelli
Head of Costume Workshop: Femke van Neerven  

A co-production of @theateroostpool & @dawnonsocial