Ela & Yala
Together we create works that are intimate, humorous, and deeply human, blending improvisation with storytelling, scenography and playful audience interaction. We are especially interested in the small gestures of everyday life and how they can open doors to shared emotions, laughter, nostalgia, and connection.
We believe in establishing a direct connection with our audience, letting their reactions shape how we play. This way, we keep our performances alive, weaving personal anecdotes, cultural traditions, and improvisation into a theatrical work that thrives on being in the moment, and allows theatre to emerge from the here-and-now.
Ela & Yala
Backgammon ​
Backgammon is a performance that explores how two people from different backgrounds find common ground through literally playing a game and how that resonates with audiences, and shows how these small everyday moments can open doors to cultural exchange, laughter, and reflection. It also celebrates the theatre itself: the shared act of being present, breaking and remaking the fourth wall, and discovering the unexpected together with the audience. We share fragments of our backgrounds and invite the audience into a dialogue that is at once personal and universal. The café becomes both living room and stage: a place for jokes, memories, silences, and confessions, always anchored in the ritual of sitting together, drinking, talking, and playing.
With Backgammon we want to create an experience that feels as warm and unpredictable as a night spent with friends — one where people leave touched, amused, and perhaps carrying a new story of their own.
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An Iranian and a Greek sit down to play a game of Backgammon, a game traditionally played in both countries by men in cafés with a tea or coffee on the side. The dice roll and the game becomes the vehicle for these two characters to talk about family stories, traditions, politics, historical facts and gossip. Lovingly embracing all the stereotypes they know really well to be true about their countries, Ela&Yala give a spotlight to all the characters that shaped their upbringing, with big reactions and deep emotions.
For this version of Backgammon we imagine a traditional Dutch bruin café. A space that feels lived-in, where locals gather. We imagine our characters as frequents at this café, they come there everyday to play their game. Such a café grounds the performance in the real world and provides an intimate and familiar atmosphere, while also setting the stage for the cultural exchange at the heart of Backgammon: this Iranian and this Greek that are meeting on Dutch ground. We definitely want to use the political layers provided by such a location, rooted in Dutch social life.
TESTIMONIALS
Backgammon was a welcoming show full of personality and cultural insight. I felt like I was hanging out with friends and at the same time broadening my understanding of the world. Backgammon holds and breaks the fourth wall with elegance and brings something exciting and refreshing to the European improv stage.
Katy Schutte / Writer • Performer
She had extreme depth and sincerity without being overly heavy, and her teaching and playing was marvellous.
Liz Talbot / Actress • Theatre maker
Compelling and grounded. Emotional range and powerful with a seamless shift from humor to heartbreak, they invite audiences on a journey that is as entertaining as it is moving, and does it all with true authenticity.
Kathy Rinald / Multi disciplinary artisti