Amanda Payne is a playwright, actor, and singer based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Growing up bilingual in English and Dutch, she seeks to challenge the conventions of language and text in theatre. Through her writing, Amanda employs repetition, rhythm, and compositional techniques to elevate everyday language, resulting in intricately structured and musically rich plays.

She has toured the Netherlands and Belgium, performing in various musical theatre productions for companies such as Stage Entertainment and Theateralliantie, and has developed her own works with several music theatre collectives. Her plays have been featured at festivals, including O. Festival, Amsterdam Fringe Festival, and Rewire Festival.

Born in 1995, she completed her undergraduate studies at Codarts University of the Arts in 2018 and graduated with a Master in Fine Arts and Design from the Re:master Opera program at the Sandberg Institute in Amsterdam in 2024.

Artist Statement

Through her work, Amanda explores musicality within speech by combining her background in singing with text-based theatre. She is interested in how the uniqueness of voice is revealed through playful manipulation of words, impersonation, and the exploration of the performativity of the mouth. This results in multilayered pieces that reshape linguistic matter and vocal textures. Her practice is expressed through various mediums, including poetry, opera, performance, song, and playwriting.