Female Economy’s WijkVoorstellingen, led by Adelheid Roosen, form a theatre concept that involves artists living together with residents of different neighbourhoods. In 2010, with the performance Zina neemt de Wijk, the first adoption by neighbourhood residents took place. This was followed by WijkVoorstellingen in Amsterdam Slotermeer (2012), Utrecht Ondiep, Zuilen and Overvecht (2013), Mexico City (2015), Bijlmer Amsterdam (2015), Ciudad Juárez in Mexico (2016), Amsterdam-Noord (2107), the AZC in Utrecht (2018), Teheran (2019) and Paramaribo (2023). In the autumn of 2026, this internationally celebrated theatre concept will, after the successful UrbanSafar in Tangier (2024), return to Morocco. In late October 2026, for a two-week period, five actors from Morocco will take up residence with five local residents in Rabat’s Medina and Kasbah Ayoudas. The gentle confrontations of their lives form the basis of the performance as a whole and the various scenes that sprout from it. Always with a belief that what you encounter in the other is the recognition of yourself. The scenes are played out in the homes of the ‘adoptive parents’. The audience is taken on an adventurous trip right through the neighbourhood and experiences daily life through the eyes of its residents.These performances offer a unique insight into the lives of local communities and are internationally recognised. Adelheid Roosen received the 2017 Gilder/Coigney International Theatre Award for her contribution to various societies. Other awards and recognitions include the Amsterdam Prize and the Van Praag Prize.

Adelheid Roosen and her artistic team travel the world with their ‘adoption method.’ To truly understand this method, one must immerse oneself in it; this precedes an actual performance in the host location—a project supported locally by a theater partner, a community organization, artists, and residents of the city in question.

The adoption method encourages theater-makers and local residents to engage in a state of radical, intimate coexistence—going far beyond the superficiality of a mere ‘visit.’ Participants truly surrender themselves to one another, allowing them to discover deeper aspects of their own selves through the encounter with the other. This authentic meeting—with both the other person and oneself—lies at the heart of the process, forming the foundation for a performance in which lives and perspectives become inextricably intertwined.

Theatre company FEMALE ECONOMY, with artistic director Adelheid Roosen, creates theatre with the aim of facilitating profound encounters with ‘the Other’. We tell deeply autobiographical stories to touch upon universal human emotions. We venture into streets and neighbourhoods, allowing ourselves to be ‘adopted’ by local residents, community organisations and local entrepreneurs. We shy away from no subject. Radical intimacy and fundamental vulnerability are our guiding principles, both in what we create and in how we create it. In this way, we develop large-scale international theatre projects, intimate performances, ongoing training programmes, films and living installations. The artistic team of URBAN SAFAR RABAT consists of Myriam Sahroui, Leendert Vooijce, Anne Heintz and Adelheid Roosen.