Are we going to hear about the talents that present themselves at Het Debuut? After all, that is the question that arises during an evening with three short performances by recently graduated theater makers.
Het Debuut, a sympathetic initiative by Theaterbureau Via Rudolphi, gives a number of novice makers a push in the direction of a professional practice. It is a convenient way for the public to get acquainted with young makers.
With this first throw as a yardstick, Marie-Mae van Zuilen presents an intriguing performer. Before her Dreaming warns her that she’s going to talk about rape. Anyone who wants to can still leave. She tells her story in a sing-song, à la Froukje, in a white decor, with light effects, to a calm, simple beat. “I lie alone in my bed and think of his face, how he has his cock pointed at me.” Her hands aren’t really hers anymore, she notices, because they haven’t pushed him away.
Rhyme, music, song, and the way she sometimes wrings a smile from her angry face: all those artificial layers do not detract from the tragic core. What follows are songs about trying to flee and distance themselves, which are dripping with despair and sadness. “I don’t want to be an event.” To which she names the discomfort and fear of the public: the fear of confronting a victim. Then she turns two sets of lights and shines them in the face of the spectators. So that we can feel her pain.
Lived lecture
Partly because of her empathetic presentation, Van Zuilen plays cleverly with the question of authenticity (is this real?) that you do not often have in theater, unlike in pop music and cabaret. Punching the audience in the face with overt emotions is not done and that makes this performance extra daring.
In The Show Justus van Bommel, directed by Emma van den Elshout, showcases an agile playing ability. Van Bommel, who identifies as ‘he/she/them’, talks nonchalantly and charmingly about loneliness on the basis of recordings for De Gouden Plaat, the gramophone record that was sent decades ago into space with music for extraterrestrial life. Thanks to strong timing and controlled actions, the narration is good for a smile.
In Illuminate Illusion Sweder de Sitter & Julie Boellaard play two bickering illusionists. Conversations about lying and truth turn without transition into pieces of silly, deliberately fake show. What the conflict lacks in direction and originality is made up for by the madness and energy of the duo, with the unfathomable gaze of De Sitter as its greatest asset. Together they provide a cheerful conclusion to this debutante ball.
Also read The Debut 2021: ‘The Debut’ celebrates the talent of young theater makers