Il Mezrab embodies the very concept of storytelling, it is difficult to describe because it is a place like there are very few in Europe, its name is synonymous with art and culture: located in Holland in Amsterdam, it is the home for anyone with a story to tell.
From Tuesday to Sunday evenings are organized where the art of knowing how to tell a story is the master, free admission for most events, a small amount is sufficient donation at personal discretion and you can set foot in the "House of Stories" of the Dutch capital (sadly known for much more than mass tourism).
Evenings usually start at 20:00 and finish by 22:30, everyone is invited: from budding storytellers to acclaimed comedians, poets, artists, any kind of improviser, anyone with something to say is welcome to the House of Stories in Amsterdam.
Events are organized on a regular basis, different evenings for different days of the week: Tuesdays are all about Open Mic, every Wednesday is all about storytelling, Thursday is live music and dancing, Friday is more storytelling, Saturday is stand-up comedy and on Sunday all kinds of events take place.
We can't forget to mention the Storytelling School, or the possibility of participating in a professional storytelling course (paying a sum of money) where you will come into contact with the Meisner Technique, an acting technique that will be taught during the course by the English actor Tom Radcliffe trying to bring the students to express themselves emotionally leaving any rationality outside the performance.
Now is the time for a bit of history: it all began in the house of the Iranian Sahand Sahebdivani, where the father delighted in telling heroic tales for his guests and the mother used to accompany them with sweet litanies. The guests soon grew in number and Sahand had to rent a tea room, then another even bigger place and finally today's seat of the Mezrab.
It was not easy to raise the necessary amount of money, a masterly work was needed through crowdfunding, it is only thanks to the generous donations of more than Supporters 400 that the current House of Stories in Amsterdam was able to see the light.
In the current Mezrab can enter up to 300 people, is managed by an international team of 10 members and is probably the most active restaurant in Europe in terms of storytelling with 200 annual events. But there's also room for poetry, music, dance, comedy, and just about any art form you can think of.
When you enter the Mezrab for the first time it is easy to feel a sinking heart, as you enter a special place that you have probably never seen before and whose existence you could not even imagine, but luckily it exists and is located in Holland, in Amsterdam.
Sahand (left) talks to a musician All the photos in this article, except the cover image, were taken by Gerardo Iannacci and all rights for the above are reserved to him, FIRST Arte Web Magazine does not own any right to any of the photos
