Lunetters do not play theatre
A look behind the scenes at Stedelingen
Here I am
55-year-old Helen Bogers is married to Johan. With a well-deserved retirement ahead of them, they decided to join the Stedelingen theater company together. Exciting, scary, what will others think of it, afraid it won't work out, new, "can I do it? All emotions she has avoided all her life or of which others said: Don't even start.
"At my house everything is structured and laid down in programs. So nice and predictable. On the first day of practice for the play, the director said to me: Just do whatever comes to mind. Yes hello, I thought, the difference couldn't be greater" (Helen Bogers).
"On theatre I am allowed to be who I am," Helen says. "I know that by now. Acting on theatre gives me a happy feeling and little by little I get more confidence in what I can do and what I do. And if you don't believe me, come and check. You can check with your own eyes that I have vooruit. Still Helen, but in a more 'real' version."
"My last play was something about St. Nicholas. I was 12 and played the lead. Too bad Dad couldn't come to check it, though. He had to work."
A jester anno 2024
Marcel van Delft is no stranger to the theatre. In previous editions of Stedelingen he surprised and fascinated the audience with his inimitable movements and characteristic grimaces. Every muscle in his body is part of his performance and that makes Marcel a unique character.
"Acting clears my head and cleans my body. I like that, but I also need it to be Marcel and to stay Marcel. Just think of it as oxygen." (Marcel van Delft)
The household, his work and all the things he has to do disappear when Marcel is on play. And especially playing on play together with others, he sees as a gift. Marcel: "If everyone can be their own, what are you together? A combination of forces that explodes during the performance. Then as a spectator you have to have guts to come and certainly to stay seated."
"The beautiful things I encounter in encounters my life, I keep a drawer in my head. And during the performance that all comes out. Then you check the story of me. And thus also yours" (Marcel van Delft).
"As a theatre actor, I feel happy and joyful. And you can check that about me. Just look how beautiful I am when I'm on theatre. Radiant just like that." (Marjan Veenstra)
