Until 19 June 2005
Van Gogh Museum

Eagerly anticipated, this if the first ever Schiele retrospective in the Netherlands. On show is a remarkable collection of around 100 gouaches, watercolours and drawings of the Viennese expressionist who died at the age of 28 during the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic.

30, 31 May 2005
Heineken Music Hall

Yay...! Note that an extra date was added (30th) after tickets for the 31st sold out in one day.

30 May 2005
Ahoy (Rotterdam)

29 May 2005
The Sugar Factory

William Sutton's 55-minute one-man whizz through Shakespeare's 154 sonnets (all of which he's memorised) reveal his obvious passion for the 16th-century bard. The show takes the audience on a journey through the pain and euphoria of love, the life of Shakespeare and Sutton's own relationship with the series of 14-line poems which he first encountered in an Amsterdam coffeeeshop. The event kicks off the Amsterdam Literary Festival closing party and ticket price includes entrance for the whole night. Reservations can be made via www.amsterdamliteraryfestival.com or by calling Pip on (020) 420 6775.

28 May 2005
The English Bookshop

Sara Maitland called it 'An extraordinary piece of writing' and Orange prizewinner Maggie Gee said it was 'a riveting, truthful, touching read that tells us about the secret lives of children.' A major new talent in fiction, London novelist, playwright and non-fiction writer Valerie Mason-John will talk on her debut novel Borrowed Body (published by Serpent's Tail) and described as The British Colour Purple'. Books will be on sale and the talk will be followed by a signing...

27 May 2005
OBA (Amsterdam Public Library)

Bestselling Hodder & Stoughton author Sarah Harrison gives a talk on her latest novel Swan Music whose underlying theme is 'Love is strong. Fate is stronger'. Bryn Mancini was born under a lucky star. As he celebrates his silver wedding, he rejoices in a beautiful wife, handsome grown-up children and the house of his dreams overlooking a bend in the river. But something dreadful is drifting downstream to his door.

27 May 2005
OBA (Amsterdam Public Library)

Amsterdam-based British writer Carol Ann Lee talks about her biographies of the world's most famous Dutch girl Anne Frank and her father Otto, and introduces her new debut novel, Begraven als een koning, inspired by the famous World War One story of 'The Unknown Soldier'. The event is part of the Amsterdam Literary Festival (ALF) 2005. Reservations can be made via www.amsterdamliteraryfestival.com or by calling Pip on (020) 420 6775.

27 May 2005
In De Waag

British author and guest Independent on Sunday columnist Rohan Candappa will be in town on Thursday 26 May to talk on his book The Curious Incident of the WMD in Iraq. Tonight, is your opportunity to talk books over dinner with him.

The three-course dinner is being held in a private room at In De Waag restaurant, within the historic De Waag building...

26 May 2005
Amstelkerk

Britain's answer to Michael Moore is the quietly sophisticated and well-read Rohan Candappa. His book The Curious Incident of the WMD in Iraq – the memoirs of a Prime Minister with Asperger's Syndrome who thinks it is a good idea to launch a war in Iraq – can be read in forty-five minutes.

Written in the style of Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, the book pokes fun at British Prime Minister Tony Blair's involvement in the Iraq war with, of course, serious undertones. Additionally, Candappa is writing a weekly column in the Independent on Sunday, in the lead up to the UK's general elections on 5 May and comes from the same sublime publishers Profile Books who brought out Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss.

26 May-8 June 2005
Filmmuseum Cinerama

Classical Bollywood titles such as Mother India (Mehboob Khan, 1957), the first Indian film to garner an Oscar and seldom seen in the Netherlands and on a large screen, feature at this festival, an ode to the world's largest film industry. Also featured are top hits from the last year – Hum Dum, Dhoom and Veer-Zaara – and the epic Lagaan (named the best film of the last 25 years by NRC Handelsblad India correspondent, Anil Ramdas). See www.filmmuseum.nl for details of screenings (most have English subtitles).

26-29 May 2005
Various Locations

The first edition of the Amsterdam Literary Festival (ALF 2005) features talks with authors, plus workshops, a literary tour and high tea event and a closing party featuring William Sutton's 55-minute one man whizz throught Shakespeare's sonnets, the launch of international literary magazine Versal III with performances and DJs from Wicked Jazz Sounds. More info at www.amsterdamliteraryfestival.com

25, 26 May
KIT Tropentheater

Seldom seen outside the centuries-old walls of the Kraton Surakarta palace on Java, is this unique, 20-strong dance company founded by the Sultan's daughter, Princess Koes Moertiyah. Expect traditional court dancing and live gamelan music, amid colourful costumes and masks.

25 May 2005
Tivoli (Utrecht)

23, 24 May 2005
Ahoy (Rotterdam)

Not a typically Pip Tip but some of you like them. I don't. On a tour sponsored by McDonalds (bleugh!).

22 May 2005
Tuschinski

Hailed as 'the best British film of the twentieth century' by the British Film Institute, 1949’s The Third Man a definitive example of film noir. The movie is based on the book by Graham Greene, directed by Carol Reed and set in post-war Vienna. Out-of-work American pulp writer Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten) is invited to the city by childhood friend, Harry Lime (Orson Welles, pictured). However, by the time Martins arrives, Lime has died in mysterious circumstances. Determined to find the truth behind his death, Martins enters into Lime’s world of shady black market deals, and associates... It's being screened as part of the Nostalgia in Tuschinski series (and is there really a more wonderful place to see it?)

22 May 2005
Heineken Music Hall

Introducing his new album, Hotel.

20, 24, 25 May 2005
De Rode Hoed

Multimillionaire Jimmy Walter starts a European Tour with his conference Reopen 9/11. Events on 11 September 2001, impacted the world. Thousands were killed and a 'witch hunt' for terrorists was started. But who is ultimately responsible for the grizzly events on the day? Walter reveals some suprising facts and background in this debate. The panel includes Barry Zwicker, David von Kleist, Eric Hufschmid and David Griffin etc. It starts at 7pm and is free but phone De Rode Hoed on 638 5606 to reserve a place on the list.

More info at www.reopen911.org

20 May 2005
Aula UvA

Twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, Tom Regan has published more than 20 books and is widely regarded as the intellectual leader of the animal rights movement. His seminal work – The Case for Animal Rights – provides the philosophical underpinning for this ongoing debate.

20 May 2005
Filmhuis Cavia

Made in the Netherlands in 1997 by Wolter Braamshorst and Guus van Waveren, this fascinating documentary explores war and propoganda cartoons from the Second World War which were made by Warner Brothers and Walt Disney and satirise dictators like Hitler and Mussolini. Alongside real footage of the attack on Pearl Harbour, it also features Donald Duck, Daffy Duck and Private Snafu (created by Dr Suess and an acronym of 'Situation Normal: All Fucked Up') in seemingly innocent cartoons with a strong propaganda message. Many of the cartoons couldn't be shown today because of the fun poked at Germany and Japan. It also includes interviews with Chuck Jones and the wife and son of Bob Clampett.

19 May 2005
Paradiso

This UK poetic songwriter and gifted pianist has eluded commercial success but garnered a respectable following. She contributed majorly to the development of the UK's punk and new wave scene by putting on bands such as The Damned, Siouxsie & The Banshees and Generation X at the Warehouse Theater in London (as well as acts such as Paul Weller, Linton Kwesi-Johnson, French & Saunders, The Durutti Column and Ben Watt etc.). At tonight's concert expect a return to her acoustic and folk/classical influences.

18 May
Heineken Music Hall

16 May 2005
Paradiso

The quintessential cult band of the 1980s who formed in Brisbane.

14 May 2005
Paradiso

In a similar vein to Múm, Coldcut, The Cinematic Orchestra and Boards of Canada, the Ninja Tune-signed group are a 10-piece Norweigan jazz band.

14-16 May
Megaland (Landgraaf)

Featuring Faithless (pictured), Chemical Brothers, Prodigy, Kane, Kaiser Chiefs and The Frames etc. More info at www.pinkpop.nl

13, 14, 16 May
Muziektheater

Sins, seductions and fantasies are the themes running through Robert Wilson's latest music theater production, an imaginative combination of dance, mime, puppetry, 18th-century negro spirituals, blues, R&B, and hip hop. Musical magician is Bernice Johnson Reagon, founder of US a cappella formation, Sweet Honey in the Rock.

11 May 2005
Amstelkerk

A highly-successful writer and broadcaster, Purves has presented BBC Radio 4's Midweek programme since 1984, and formerly presented the Today programme from 1977-1981. In addition to her Radio 4 work, she's a renowned columnist for The Times and received the OBE for services to journalism in 1999, the same year she was named Granada Columnist of the Year.

11-14 May 2005
COC

A daring and contemporary spin on British playwright Alan Bennett's outrageous comedy of love and lust, performed by the Queen's English Theater Company. Set soley in Dr Wicksteed's Brighton surgery, a series of comic misunderstandings reveal how sexual desire motivates us all...
More info at www.qetc.nl

7 July
Melkweg

The superb lounge project of Germany's Pit Baumgartner, a sample-minded producer (he remixed Ella Fitzgerald's Wait 'til You See Him for the first Verve Remixed compilation). Highly recommended. See also The Dears (sob).

7 May 2005
Paradiso

A fabulous alternative six-piece from Montreal, led by the eccentric visionary Murray A Lightburn, who have just released their wonderful single 22: The Death Of All Romance (from album No Cities Left). Along with De Phazz, who are unfortunately playing on the same night at the Melkweg, Anne Clark at the Melkweg on 19 May and Duran Duran on 30, 31 May at Heineken Music Hall, this is the gig of the month. Don't miss the support – a great Amsterdam act, Blues Brother Castro.

5 May 2005
Paard van Troje (The Hague)

This fabulous Amsterdam-based band are supporting Hallo Venray. If you live in The Hague go and see what's been causing a buzz in Amsterdam... More info at www.jackstafford.co.uk

4 May 2005
ABC Treehouse

On the eve of Dutch Liberation Day, on the day we remember those who fought and died for that freedom, in a world where too many nations still live under the rule of occupying forces – Theatergroep Trezoor celebrates freedom with a reading of John Steinbeck's classic The Moon is Down.