Manu Van Kersbergen

Manu van Kersbergen is a writer, performer and musician. In the jury report of the Dutch Theatre Jury, he was praised as a “form innovator who translates his stories into music, language and performance.” In 2025, Manu was nominated for the Theo d’Or for his performance in the music theatre production De Herontdekking van de Hemel, a rare recognition for an artist with roots in hip-hop and spoken word. The production will tour in 2026. The album De Herontdekking van de Hemel (2024) is a standalone musical work, in which his texts are developed into fully-fledged songs, live compositions and atmospheric interludes. The track De Constructie, nominated for the Annie M.G. Schmidt Prize, was praised for its layered, critical and musically daring character. On vinyl, the album title is printed in Braille, serving as a tactile reference to the album’s central theme: the creative power of language. Van Kersbergen has previously performed at Lowlands, North Sea Jazz, Oerol and Theaterfestival Boulevard, as well as at venues including Ahoy, Paradiso, TivoliVredenburg, De Oosterpoort and De Kleine Komedie. His work transcends genres and audiences, finding its way just as naturally to music programmers as to theatre curators. With his powerful live delivery and strong musical foundation, he knows how to move audiences in theatres and captivate festival crowds. Alongside his work on stage, Manu hosted the radio programme Spoken on FunX, is developing the programme Spoken Word Sessies for Dutch broadcaster HUMAN, and is working with ArtEZ to establish the first hip-hop track within a conservatoire. He also works as a voice actor, hosts conferences, and is an ambassador for Musicians without Borders, for whom he regularly leads training sessions and works with young people in conflict-affected areas through the art of spoken word.