Almost a lifetime

In autumn 2026, Toneelgroep Maastricht and Stichting NOX will present Almost a Life, a brand new play by Vera Morina directed and conceptualised by Zorba Huisman. Sinem Kavus (winner of the Golden Calf) and Emmanuel Ohene Boafo (winner of the Louis d'Or) play a couple who are effectively separated, but seem condemned to a shared life in the same house due to the scarcity on the housing market. Zorba Huisman returns to Toneelgroep Maastricht after the success of Longen (2025) with another deeply human love story about thirty-somethings set against the backdrop of a major current social problem.

During an all-consuming argument, in which words wound like weapons, their fate seems sealed: they must never see each other again. Until the phone rings. Her bid for a house has been rejected again. His lease runs for another six months. Leaving does not appear to be an option. They will have to stay where they are. Together. In a world where individual freedom is the highest good, but living alone is unaffordable, they are forced to re-examine why they once chose each other. But how do you choose another (and yourself) at a time when outside images constantly dictate what a successful life looks like? What is left when love wears off, but the price of living alone proves higher than that of staying together?

Almost a Life is a painfully topical, tragicomic love story about the true cost of our times. About financial and emotional dependence. About patterns, expectations and prejudices that nestle between two people. About the image of success we try to uphold even when it starts to pinch.

The press about Lungs: de Volkskrant ★★★★ I 'Drama gem, fantastic actors.'