Toneelgroep Amsterdam (with small t) has to give up a new name
The actors’ collective theater group Amsterdam has to give its name back. This was announced by the International Theater Amsterdam (ITA) in an angry short. The ITA claims to own the name Toneelgroep Amsterdam (in capital letters).
If the actors collective does not relinquish the name before Thursday, legal action will follow, reports AT5/NH News†
The small actors’ collective De Warme Winkel took over the name of the large Toneelgroep Amsterdam on 22 March. The name had become available, argued De Warme Winkel, when the old Toneelgroep Amsterdam merged with the Stadsschouwburg four years ago and started calling itself International Theater Amsterdam.
‘They will say no’
“They are out of second turn and give a life”, Ward Weemhoff of Ward Weemhoff said in March† The name change was not discussed with ITA. “We knew they would say no,” said Weemhoff.
It turns out, because now there is that angry letter. “The name ‘Toneelgroep Amsterdam’ is owned by ITA and is not free to use by third parties,” the theater writes. The theater group must relinquish its name before Thursday, June 16 at noon.
A petition
The acting collective is a petty started to avert fate: “Help us tell that the legacy van Toneelgroep Amsterdam with a big T cannot be seen with the story of theater group Amsterdam with a small t. Help us to lay layers in the history of the theater and not to let this beautiful name, which stands for gogme and anarchy, be lost,” the petition reads.
It is still unclear what the petition, even if it is massively signed, will achieve. Weemhoff hopes that a costly case will in any case be averted. “We are a small club and one would not be responsible for us,” he says.
He reversed the name change. “The name ‘theatre group Amsterdam’ is already on so many posters and has been taken over by the media. I also have the feeling we are in front of a ravine and don’t know where to go. There is no plan B.”