Ali Smith

Between 2016 and 2020, Scottish author, playwright, academic, and journalist Ali Smith wrote the critically acclaimed and award-winning novel cycle Autumn, Winter, Spring, and Summer. Four books about the changing climate and a Western world in flux. The quartet, set in the United Kingdom, begins shortly after the Brexit referendum and ends just before the actual withdrawal from the EU. At the heart of the story is the centenarian Daniel Gluck, whose life story, full of remarkable encounters, echoes throughout the 20th century.

Over the past year, Eric de Vroedt adapted the cycle for Het Nationale Theater into the stage production De seizoenen. This autumn, the play will be performed across the country. That’s why we’re diving into Ali Smith’s work and world: what were her ideas when she began the cycle? How did she transform reality into literature? And how can art give us hope? Of course, we’ll also look at the books she wrote after the cycle, particularly Gliff, the first part of a diptych whose concluding volume will be released this autumn.

Ali Smith will be in conversation with Remco van Rijn, dramaturge at Het Nationale Theater and closely involved in the creation of De seizoenen.