ETC Member De Toneelmakerij is proud to announce that in-house playwright and dramaturg Nina van Tongeren has been awarded the prestigious Charlotte Köhler Stipendium 2025. The annual stipend recognises exceptional authorship and is granted this year in the category of drama.
Nina receives the stipend for her classroom play Cuckooksnest, in which two sisters explore through language how to cope with their mother’s mental health.
The jury: “the text shines in meticulous professional skill and societal urgency. The theme of mental health, often shrouded in silence and stigma, is investigated with sharpness and compassion in a clear and layered narrative.”
On top of this, Cuckooksnest will celebrate its German opening night on 26 November 2025 in Berlin and will play at Grips Theater from next week on.
Click here for further information and tickets
We congratulate Nina van Tongeren on this major milestone, and look forward to seeing her work reach new audiences and inspire further conversations around young people and mental health.
Nina is also one of nine playwrights participating in ETC's flagship project, Young Europe V, dedicated to creating classroom plays for young audiences, around the topic of 'dramaturgy of care'.
