Ola Mafaalani is a theater and opera director known for her imaginative productions. She is often referred to as ‘the empress of fantasy’ due to her creative and innovative approach to theater. In January 2021, she joined the Female Economy in Amsterdam as an artistic leader, alongside Adelheid Roosen. In addition to her leadership role, Mafaalani also continues to direct operas and theatre. Furthermore, it is accurate that Ola Mafaalani has a passion for coaching women, and she has been involved in mentoring and supporting women in the various industries.

Between 2009 and 2016, she served as the general director of the North Netherlands Theatre (Noord Nederlands Toneel or NNT), a prominent Dutch theater company. During her tenure at NNT, she made significant contributions to the theater scene in the Netherlands.

Overzicht regie

Coach for women

  For individual coaching mail me   info@olamafaalani.com
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Vrouwen in Bad / Women in Bath

Female Economy
WOMEN IN BATH is a safe space where women rekindle their feminine fire. In a series of five sessions, a group of 40 women undergo a transformative theatrical journey, while lying in transparent bathtubs, guided by theatre performers: Adelheid Roosen, Anna Drijver, Nazmiye Oral, Naomi van der Linden and directed by ‘the empress of theatrical fantasy’ Ola Mafaalani.    ...
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Kurt Weill: The Seven Deadly Sins

Dutch National Opera & Ballet - Nationale Opera & Ballet
Unique live online film experience Have you ever had the feeling that there are two people living inside you who respond to the challenges you face in completely different ways? In the satirical music theatre piece "Kurt Weill: The Seven Deadly Sins," a ballet chanté in nine scenes, star soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek and renowned actress Anna Drijver embody two sides...
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Borgen

NNT (has been renamed to NITE)
Borgen shows how a prime minister rises to power and how power changes a prime minister. The drama series performed a wonderful tour, sold out, received great critical acclaim, and garnered various nominations at theatre festivals. With "Borgen," Mafaalani introduced a new live genre: binge-watching in theatre, which lasted for 9 hours.    
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Les Enfants du paradis / Children of Paradise

BERLINER ENSEMBLE
Marcel Carnés Opus Magnum ist einer der poetischsten Filme aller Zeiten. Die "Kinder des Paradieses" sind jedoch gebrannte Kinder, sie entstehen mitten im Zweiten Weltkrieg. Regelmäßig erscheinen Gestapo-Spione bei den Dreharbeiten, um Mitglieder der Résistance oder Juden aufzuspüren und zu verhaften. Ein Teil des Teams schwebt daher permanent in Lebensgefahr. Als erster Film des endlich wiedergewonnenen Friedens feiern die "Kinder...
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Fellini

NNT (has been renamed to NITE)
Fellini is joy. Director Ola Mafaalani, who has always adored the circus, transforms the stage into the most imaginative theatrical circus ever. Using the theatre as her circus tent, she brings il Maestro back to life and provides him with the airiest of wings, allowing him to enchant his public once again with his fantasy, imagination and heart-warming love stories....
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Romeo and Juliet

Toneelgroep Amsterdam (has been renamed to ITA, International Theatre Amsterdam)
Verona is a city in war. Two families are fighting. The joung generation watch with wonderment how not understanding evokes in fear. And how fear creates violence. Until Romeo falls in love with Juliet. And Juliet falls in love with Romeo. With this meeting the fight between two families becomes a fight within one family. A new challenge.
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The Merchant of Venice

Toneelgroep Amsterdam (has been renamed to ITA, International Theatre Amsterdam)
In The Merchant of Venice Shakspeare love and money is connected strongly, where love is a lottery, an illusion to not face reality and turns into a fairy tale. Money is the motor. Dominated by the merchant of Venice, Antonio. The outsider Shylock is his enemy. When Antonio needs money for his best friend Bassanio he has no other solution...
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Wings of Desire/Der Himmel über Berlin

Toneelgroep Amsterdam (now ITA) in coproduction with American Repertory Theatre (ART)
Wings of Desire (Der Himmel ueber Berlin) is an adaptation of Wim Wenders monumental film. Mafaalani iniciated for the theatreadaptation an uniek international collaboration with American Repertory Theatre (A.R.T.) and Toneelgroep Amsterdam. The cast of this perfromance is half Dutch and half American. The production toured the Netherlands and Belgium before arriving at the A.R.T. Boston in december 2006. 'Toneelversie...
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Elf minuten/Eleven Minutes

NNT (has been renamed to NITE)
Novelist Paulo Coelho based his book on the experiences of a young Brazilian prostitute called Maria, whose first innocent brushes with love leave her heartbroken. At a young age, she becomes convinced that she will never find true love, instead believing that "love is a terrible thing that will make you suffer.....". When a chance meeting in Rio takes her...
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Medea

NNT (has been renamed to NITE)
Ola Mafaalani shows Medea strong and loving, tremendously loving. The same love that leads her to destroy all she cares about. It is not revenge, but her need to fight her faith. She believes a good mother saves her boys from slavery and she takes their life away from them. Medea from Ola Mafaalani copy's real scénes that happened before...
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Othello

Kölner Schauspielhaus
A main stage production that ran in Cologne, Germany for more than 2 years and traveled to Zwitserland. About a man who killed his wife because his best friend Jago suggested he betrays him. Shakespeare shows how manipulation works. How a civilised society changes in murder and  inrigue. A masterpeace that Mafaalani staged as brutal as the play is. The...
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Mama

NNT (has been renamed to NITE)
Exclusively for Holland: A performance with the ambition to stop child abuse.    Helaas waar gebeurd. Mama wil het geheim van kindermishandeling doorbreken. Het gebeurt overal: om ons heen, bij onze buren, in onze familie, bij onze collega’s thuis en bij klasgenoten van onze kinderen. Soms zitten we erbij en kijken ernaar, en we houden onze mond. Mama toont dat...
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La Divina Commedia

NNT (has been renamed to NITE)
In La Divina Commedia the writer Dante Alighieri travels fictively through hel, and passes purgatory to paradise. The adaptation Mafaalani brought on stage became famous and sold out. A sensual experience of the italian masterpeace. Mafaalani created a big stage full of eternal touching and breathetaking scenes, poetic and circus, drama and horror.  Roadmovie to Paradise  
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De Laatkomer/The Latecomer

NNT (has been renamed to NITE)
A man hates his life and pretends to have Alzheimer. The fun ends when he comes to a clinic. After a while he meets his first teenage love Rosa, in a wheelchair, with dementia. An outstanding love story, but also a very hard camera on how we deal with old people. This performance involves dance, live piano music and mime...
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A Clockwork Orange

d'Electrique/punkgroup The EX
655321. Alex is a number once he became a prisoner. The number 655321. This adaptation was the theatre hit of 2005. Performed sold out for 5 weeks in festival over het IJ. After invited on tour in mai 2007 in the main theatres in The Netherlands. This performance is disturbing, alarming, full of hallucination and optical illusion. Ola Mafaalani presents...
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