Conceived and directed by Rosa Doornenbal, Will We Believe? developed through collaboration with Clara Saito, Dino Desica and Natalie Price Hafslund. Rather than assigning Dino a conventional role, the process incorporated elements of his existing artistic persona into the structure and language of the work.
Central to Dino’s contribution is his relationship with a puppet made in his image. Performer and double occupy the stage together, creating a comic and unsettling split between Dino and the identity he has constructed: a figure preoccupied with being seen, desired, loved and ultimately given a place on the stage.
Within the structure of a magic show, this doubling becomes another form of illusion. Dino can animate, confront and observe an external version of himself, while the audience moves between the person, the persona and its fabricated double.
Magic and puppetry therefore become ways of exploring belief beyond theatrical illusion: the fantasies people construct about themselves, the identities they perform for others, and the distance between who we are and who we want to become.
Concept and direction: Rosa Doornenbal
Creation and performance: Clara Saito, Dino Desica, Natalie Price Hafslund, Rosa Doornenbal
Presented at: Amsterdam Fringe Festival, 2025
Venue: Pleintheater, Amsterdam
Dates: 4–6 September 2025
