Alex Weenink – Theatre, Poetry and the Gift of Quiet
Alex Weenink works where theatre meets poetry. Originally from Malta and now based in Zurich, Switzerland, where he is studying for an MA in Theatre at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK), Alex moves between performance, writing, object and space to explore the realities of contemporary life.
In June 2026 he joined the very first cohort of our Nature & Perception residency at the Poretsou Monastery in the mountains of the Peloponnese.
A practice between disciplines
In Alex's own words, his work investigates "the politics and poetics of urban/natural spaces, identity/community, and emotion/expression." He is drawn to the exchange between artistic disciplines, and that is exactly what brought him to Greece: the theme of the programme, the environment, and the space for international, interdisciplinary exchange.
The quiet
Asked what he still remembers from the residency, Alex answers with a list that reads almost like a poem:
"The daily sounds and rituals of everyone hard at work, in the monastery and all around the mountain paths and fields. The laughs at the dinner table. The long, vulnerable, eager evening conversations in our studio and the breadth of artistic output from everyone every day. Pano's calm, patient, wisdom. Barbora's curiosity. The sheep and their shepherds. The dogs (especially Blanco). The bees. Mack's food. Holly's garden. Spiros was always up to something on site. The cold stone of the chapel. The sun by the river stream. The quiet. The quiet. My god, the quiet."
One of the residency dogs, resting below the mountains. Photo: Alex Weenink
Making space to think
Alex did not arrive with a fixed project to complete. Instead, the residency became a time to think about what comes next:
"I thought a lot. I wrote a lot too, but mostly there was thinking... and stressing out... and breathing deeply... and enjoying the quiet... and then thinking some more and writing some more. I was less concerned with what I was making and more concerned with thinking about what comes next and how I want to make it. I think making space for that is more valuable than one may think and this was an important reminder of that."
Drawings and notes by Alex Weenink: the mountain, the river, the trees, the heart
Among the writing Alex shared with us are two poems rooted in the landscape, The Mountain, Arkadia and The Visiondreams of Rivertrees. Both are full of invented, joined-together words such as "quietstill", "wanderwalks" and "visiondreamers", as if ordinary language could not quite hold what the mountain offered.
The Mountain, Arkadia, a poem by Alex Weenink
The Visiondreams of Rivertrees, a poem by Alex Weenink
From the mountains to Zurich
Alex already knew that his master's degree was waiting at the end of the summer, and the residency helped him prepare for it. Now in Zurich, he is listening, learning, meeting people from around the world and training to make new theatre for contemporary times.
"The city is not as quiet as the mountains, but I hold that quiet, and the way it taught me to observe, close to heart."
A word to other artists
"Besides being an investment in your artistic practice, it's also a wonderful personal experience... and of course, those realities are intrinsically linked. Good people, in beautiful environments, patient and meaningful support, time and space to connect, and create, and simply 'be'."
Alex Weenink. Image courtesy of the artist
Find Alex
Instagram: @alex_weenink and @chewingproductions
Thank you, Alex, for sharing your story and your poems with us. Images and texts courtesy of Alex Weenink.
Inspired by Alex's experience? Nature & Perception 2027 is now open for applications. Apply for free.
