JULIA-BETH HARRIS THRILLS IN WHERE THE CLOUDS GATHER
Words become worlds in visceral poetry performance exploring migration and history
It’s rare to experience a performance as emotionally resonant as Julia-Beth Harris's’ Where the Clouds Gather, a 45-minute multidisciplinary work that fuses poetry, performance, and history into a meditation on migration, memory, and identity.
I was fortunate enough to witness the preview of Harris’ upcoming show, which will be performed in full on November 29th as part of The Spirit of Amsterdam. Born in Cape Town and now based in Amsterdam, Harris brings back to the surface some of the hidden voices history left behind, channeling both personal and collective experience through her work.
The performance carries audiences from present-day Amsterdam back to 1652, when Dutch colonists first landed on South African shores. Harris interweaves the perspectives of a Dutch East India Company (VOC) captain, Indigenous Khoi-San ancestors, and even mythical creatures, creating a layered narrative that feels both historical and urgent: making history tangible.
The preview took place on a wooden ship traversing the canals of Amsterdam - a boat from the non-profit Rederij Lampedusa, rescued from the island of Lampedusa, which once carried modern-day migrants on perilous journeys to Europe. This unusual setting heightened the work's immersive quality, turning the city itself into both stage and character.
Rather than a traditional performance, it felt like a ‘multi-dimensional experience poetry’. Harris uses sensory-rich language to draw the audience into the story, shifting points of view so seamlessly that you might be observing a character one moment and inhabiting their consciousness the next. From witnessing events to feeling them under the skin, the audience is drawn into a profoundly intimate encounter with history.
Linguistically, it’s also strikingly original. One of my favourite moments was a centrepiece that read like spoken word, unfolding a scene in a triptych of Harris’s homeland languages: English, Afrikaans, and Xhosa.
Her moral vision is clear, yet her treatment of the extractive and violent legacy of colonialism is human-centered and nuanced. She invites the audience to see history from multiple angles: at one moment, watching the arrival of ships; the next, within those aboard them. The result is a performance that is at once powerful and hauntingly original. Intellectual, yet accessible and viscerally enjoyable. The audience leaves transfixed, feeling a bit like a time traveller.
As Harris says,
“After this performance, you have the sense that you’ve heard perspectives from our shared history that have been hidden or silenced.”
And indeed, Where the Clouds Gather resurfaces those voices, offering a rare and moving meditation on belonging, memory, and how history can resonate through the ages through words.
Where The Clouds Gather will be performed in its entirety as part of The Spirit of Amsterdam Festival 2025 on Saturday, the 29th of November, with live compositions by Wytze Minne de Swart and final direction by Joanne Purperhart.
Performance Details
Date: Saturday, 29 November 2025
Showtimes: 15:00 & 19:00 (doors open 30 min prior)
Venue: Keizersgrachtkerk, Keizersgracht 566, Amsterdam
Tickets:15:00 & 19:00
Language: English & Afrikaans
Duration: 45 minutes
