Damiaan Denys
(1965) is a prominent psychiatrist, neuroscientist, writer and theatre actor. Born in Flanders, he works and lives in The Netherlands. He studied philosophy and medicine in Belgium, graduated in psychiatry from Utrecht University, and worked as head of anxiety disorders of UMC Utrecht. He is a professor at the University of Amsterdam and department head of psychiatry at AMC Amsterdam. Denys developed Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), a method to master compulsive thoughts. In his book Angstparadox (Anxiety Paradox, 2016) he states: "If there is a single word that holds the essence of the world in which we live now, of what guides us and of what holds us back, it is anxiety." Denys writes and acts in theatre monologues, among them Van angst naar vrijheid (From Anxiety to Freedom, 2016), which is "about the sense and nonsense of our contemporary culture of anxiety".
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Archive available for: Damiaan Denys
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Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer is Europe
With: Damiaan Denys, Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer, Noa Eyl
What is left of grande dame Europa? Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer takes to the couch in the role of this ailing part of the planet. Together with psychiatrist Damiaan Denys, he discusses the status of important themes such as migration, tourism and the environment, and looks into the future.
Via excerpts from his masterful novel Grand Hotel Europa, the Pfeijffer takes you on a journey through a once-grand Europe, now in decline and a shadow of itself. With intermezzos by violinist Noa Eyl, a virtuostic interpreter of classical music, klezmer and jazz.
After the performance, Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer and Damiaan Denys will be available in the foyer for a meet & greet, or for a booksinging.
This beloved and intriguing event debuted at preceding Writes Unlmited festivals returns, now as an independent evening program. The writer - a presumed specialist in bringing characters to life - lets psychiatrist Damiaan Denys accompany him into the world of his novel. The writer on the couch IS the novel or the character in this fascinating and unpredictable roleplay.
**** "Grand Hotel Europa doesn't shrink from anything, wants to impress and impresses indeed. Its big-bigger-biggest scope turns the novel into an amazing masterpiece. On top of this, it's a wonderful book that you read with an eagerness that becomes more and more feverish. Pfeijffer has caught the zeitgeist and served it up in irresistible fashion. He's written the novel of the year." NRC Handelsblad
"Grand Hotel Europa is not only an overwhelming reading experience, Pfeijffer also dishes up tons of food for thought. Who can match him in today's Dutch literary scene, with his enormous ability to light a fire under the zeitgeist and thumb his nose at all the decent, fussy novels full of first-world problems?" De Morgen
"You can easily call Grand Hotel Europa a pageturner. The most admirable aspect of the novel is Pfeijffer's fascination with his subject, and his engagement. Grand Hotel Europa is not only a consideration of our identity but also a contribution to its continuation." De Volkskrant
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On the Couch: Aafke Romeijn as Katadreuffe
A fictional character visits the shrink! Psychiatrist Damiaan Denys invited musician, journalist and writer Aafke Romeijn onto his couch. As Jacob Willem Katadreuffe, the protagonist from F. Bordewijk's Karakter (1938), she reflected on desires, motives and life questions. What if I had eternal life? As a character, do I not already enjoy eternal life? And what is actually the meaning of life? Can one shape life, is everything possible if you will it?
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On the Couch: Dimitri Verhulst as Dorian Gray
A fictional character visited the shrink! Psychiatrist Damiaan Denys invited Dimitri Verhulst onto his couch. As the protagonist of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, Verhulst reflected on desires, motives and life questions. What if I had eternal life? As a character, do I not already enjoy eternal life? And what is actually the meaning of life? Can one shape life, is everything possible if you will it?
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Book of My life: Damiaan Denys
Writers told us about their favourite book: the book that inspires or touches them, that set their artistic, moral or intellectual compass. In short, the book they would recommend to everyone. Interview: Hassnae Bouazza.
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More Than a Monster: Reading Frankenstein with Hanna Bervoets & Martijntje Smits
With: Damiaan Denys, Hanna Bervoets, Martijntje Smits
In 1818, Mary Shelley then just 19 years old, wrote a ground-breaking book that has inspired countless Hollywood movies until this day. In many aspects, Frankenstein is both a literary masterpiece as well as a pioneering text in a genre that would only gain a name decades later: science fiction. The book presents a provocative dialogue about how we should deal with the progress of technology, predicting not just the great expectations, but also the profound fears machines inspire. On the night of Friday 14 December, novelist Hanna Bervoets and philosopher and engineer Martijntje Smits shared their fascination for Frankenstein. Why is Shelley's book such a masterpiece, and why is it still highly relevant today? Each read a personal selection from the novel, kicking off a joint discussion that also included the audience. Moderator was psychiatrist, writer and theatre actor Damiaan Denys. (Duch spoken.)
Event curated by Shervin Nekuee (Writers Unlimited)
Books for sale courtesy of De Vries Van Stockum -
The Netherlands on the Sofa: Marjolijn van Heemstra
A country goes to see the doctor! The Netherlands feels fantastic. In 2017, it held sixth place on the list of the happiest countries in the world. Not too bad when you consider, for example, the quality of Dutch health care and education. Or the freedoms enjoyed by its population. On an individual level, the future looks rosy, to say the least.
At the same time, the Netherlands seems to have lost its way. The expectations of society as a whole seem much more sombre. There is growing unrest about the collective identity. The Netherlands is frightened of losing ist norms and values.
What's going on? Writer and theatre Artist Marjolijn van Heemsta, in the role of the Netherlands, interpreted these paradoxical feelings on psychiatrist Damiaan Denys' sofa.
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The Netherlands on the Sofa: Peter Buwalda
A country goes to see the doctor! The Netherlands feels fantastic. In 2017, it held sixth place on the list of the happiest countries in the world. Not too bad when you consider, for example, the quality of Dutch health care and education. Or the freedoms enjoyed by its population. On an individual level, the future looks rosy, to say the least.
At the same time, the Netherlands seems to have lost its way. The expectations of society as a whole seem much more sombre. There is growing unrest about the collective identity. The Netherlands is frightened of losing ist norms and values.
What's going on? Writer and columnist Peter Buwalda, in the role of the Netherlands, interpreted these paradoxical feelings on psychiatrist Damiaan Denys' sofa.
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The Dutch on the Couch: Tommy Wieringa
A country sees the doctor — the Netherlands is suffering from agoraphobia. Do we want more or fewer Moroccans? How many refugees do we take in? And why don't the people who consider Black Pete racist piss off to their own countries? In the role of the Netherlands, Tommy Wieringa explains why he's so afraid to leave his old, familiar surroundings and why the big bad outside world has assumed such monstrous proportions. Damiaan Denys, Professor of psychiatry, tries to understand and explain the anxiousness within the Dutch society. In Dutch.
Damiaan Denys replaces the earlier announced Gündüz Vassaf.
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The Dutch on the Couch: Stine Jensen
A country sees the doctor — the Netherlands is suffering from burnout. Young and old are working themselves to pieces: placement tests of elementary schoolchildren can make or break their futures; graduates can't find work without four Masters and dozens of side activities; the retirement age keeps getting raised. We live in a continual rat race, and what at first seemed an advantage — endless possibilities compared with the past — is slowly becoming a hindrance. It's the stress of so many choices, and the idea that, since one can in theory lead a perfect life, one ought to. With Professor of psychiatry Damiaan Denys and, as patient The Netherlands, filosopher Stine Jensen. In Dutch.
Stine Jensen has taken the place of Joke Hermsen, who had to cancel because of a flue. Damiaan Denys replaces Gündüz Vassaf, who was announced in the brochure.
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Imagination, our Brain and the Story of our Life
Professor of psychiatry Damiaan Denys looks at his profession philosophically. He is fascinated by what human beings are not, given the human condition. The human condition is the source of all imagination. Writer P. F. Thomese wrote a novel about a man with the romantic idea of the artist embracing the void and from there reaching great heights, losing sight of reality entirely. After a short introduction by Denys on imagination and the brain Tessel Blok will iinterview them both on imagination and the void, in reality and in literature. A programme on the boundaries between pathology and art. In Dutch.
