He plays one of the leading roles in the hit series Dertigers, does sketches for Het Klokhuis and recently toured the country with the theater performance Welcome to the Middle Ages. Teun Donders (29) from Tilburg is and goes everywhere and sees every province react differently. “People from Brabant often think that they are the nicest.”
The actor now lives in Amsterdam. There he studied at the Theater School and that is where the work is. But in his heart he still feels ‘very Brabander’. “I always come back to Tilburg with a lot of love,” he says at the table of the Omroep Brabant talk show VRIJDAG.
Brabant’s audience sometimes takes some getting used to
But the public in Brabant can sometimes be difficult. “Reactions to your performance differ from region to region. Limburgers, for example, are silent connoisseurs: you only receive confirmation from the applause.”
According to Donders, there is a different institution in Brabant. “People from Brabant often think: we are the nicest ourselves, so prove that you are nicer. That is sometimes hard work for an actor. But when I recently appeared as a Brabander in a performance, it was immediately good. Like: that is one of us.”
Hit series stops
Besides the theater, the actor is also busy with TV series. Like Thirtysomethingsthe BNNVARA series that is now mainly viewed online. But the current season is the last. “Then I think it’s a great shame. They thought: it’s a success, so we’ll pull the plug. Yes, that’s the NPO,” he says with a wink.
Donders will especially miss his fellow actors from the series. “We know each other well: we studied together or did other work things together. And that’s just great.”
Thirties door ajar?
Fortunately, there are plenty of other things, such as the sketches he does for Het Klokhuis. They are about cowboys and are recorded in Gilze-Rijen, because there is a cowboy range there. And when he is in the area, his mother likes to come and check on her son.
Or yes, don’t just look: she even makes an appearance. Although this does not always happen without a struggle. “My mother has -6, but in the cowboy days there were no glasses yet, so she can’t wear them. In the final versions she is always behind something. The only thing you see of my mother is a silhouette behind someone else,” Donders laughs.
There is a musical on the program from October: then Donders will perform For Her, the Frans Halsema Musical. And what about people in their thirties? “I still have the feeling that the door is still ajar somewhere.” He laughs. “Although the NPO doesn’t know that yet.”