Esther's work began in community art: professional theatre made with people who rarely get a stage. Three projects stand out. Two with the Rotterdams Wijktheater, a community theatre company that makes theatre with and for the city's neighbourhoods, and one with the Will Hawkins Foundation.
Matties (2016–2017)
For a year, Esther worked with street youth from Rotterdam-Zuid. It started on the street, where she scouted boys who might want to join a theatre performance. Then came weekly rehearsals. First the group collected stories and material, all recorded, so the final script would be in their words, not hers. Then she wrote the script, and they rehearsed it. Matties, a show about brotherly love, was performed during the Jonge Makers Week 2017. Not in a theatre, but in a local car garage: all the boys dreamed of becoming mechanics, and a black-box theatre is rarely a place where their world gets seen.
REACT (2017–2018)
REACT was an EU-funded project with partner groups in Bristol and Sicily. Esther led the recruitment among long-time Rotterdammers and newcomers to the city, and co-directed the group with Stefan van Hees. Twenty people met every week to collect stories around one theme: home. What is home, where is it, and who belongs there? Those stories became a performance. Along the way, real connections grew: stories and food were shared, and the group even celebrated Christmas together.
This is where it all started: people who rarely get heard, turning their own stories into theatre, and getting a platform and a spotlight.
Will Hawkins Collectief (2019-2023)
The Will Hawkins Foundation works where care and culture meet. Its collective of musicians, all in recovery from addiction or psychological strain, rehearses every week in Vught and Eindhoven, built on one belief: everyone has talent, and everyone deserves recognition. Esther worked with the collective for several years. Together they created a performance in which the musicians brought their own songs and personal stories to the stage, showing the people behind the addiction and the human stories they carry. It was a huge success.