Claudia de Breij knows how to characterize politicians such as Kaag and Rutte in a witty way

As with the previous edition (‘pauperkabouter’), Claudia de Breij’s (47) New Year’s Eve conference also featured a proposal for language enrichment. She proposed that ‘wopke’ – now mainly known as the first name of our Minister of Foreign Affairs – be promoted to an adverb. Meaning: meh. Use when you are asked something, but you don’t really want to or can’t give an answer.

De Breij found another way of illustrating certain characteristics of CDA minister Hoekstra in a comparison with a student who, in preparation for his oral Dutch, limited himself to filming the book he should have read. Then you can answer a lot of questions, but everything – answer length, facial expression, tense shoulders – betrays that you should not ask too long.

In her third New Year’s Eve conference (she previously closed the year in 2016 and 2019), De Breij showed herself to be strong in finding such comical and at the same time very recognizable examples, with which she concisely characterizes our national administrators. It is especially good that she managed to surprise with witty observations about much-discussed politicians, a genre in which there is a danger of treading well-trodden paths.

De Breij also came to a comically accurate analysis about Rutte and Kaag by imagining how a museum visit would go with these two. She would probably feel stupid with Kaag, as she hobbles after the D66 deputy prime minister who says things like: “I have seen the original version of this painting hanging in a palace in Damascus.” Things would be different with Rutte, he would already propose at the entrance: “Shall we go straight to the museum shop?” It is an extremely effective and, moreover, funny way of depicting why one person comes across as sympathetic but not always very learned, while the opposite is true for the other.

Declared unfit

And so, early in the evening, De Breij had declared the leaders of the three largest government parties unfit to lead a country. This lack of leadership was also reflected in the beautiful setting, in which we saw a ship floating under a restless sky in turbulent waters that turned out to represent the Netherlands: still floating, that was the good news, but without a captain. Towards the end of the performance, the metaphor was extended with a nice story about Odysseus, from whom almost three millennia after his challenging boat trip from Troy there was still a lot to learn. It wasn’t the most exciting part of the evening, but come on: a somewhat jaded comparison to outline the state of the country is also a bit of a New Year’s Eve conference tradition.

She declares the leaders of the three largest government parties unfit to lead a country

The rest of the evening was more stimulating, De Breij’s twelfth performance was particularly successful. It’s amazing how she managed to bake something original from news from the past year that was discussed to the last detail. For example, Johan Derksen received an assessment from an unexpected angle when De Breij suddenly labeled him a ‘radical feminist’ (with his candle story there was finally a perpetrator instead of a victim of transgressive behavior speaking, according to a sarcastic De Breij).

Also funny was the musical ‘battle’ between Glennis Grace and Lil ‘Kleine, two artists who proved in 2022 that they both have loose hands. De Breij also turns out to be a compassionate person when she considers the better sides of Glennis Grace: no one can sing the word ‘tailgate’ as beautifully as she can. Her impersonation is very successful, as is a later Kate Bush impersonation, in a comedy number in which she demonstrates how she tried to “outfluence” her son from his phone.

Wonderful songs

De Breij excelled in finding a nice balance between light and heavier subjects and especially in finding smooth transitions between them. Her musical interludes were very functional for this, but much more than that – De Breij had made beautiful songs. A song she borrowed from the Groningen troubadour Ede Staal also had an effect: the song comforted her in dark moments last year, now she comforted us through the year.

In particular, she comforted the people of Groningen and the youth, two groups that are currently fighting. The people of Groningen against a government that considered (and finds) natural gas more important than the inhabitants of the natural gas area, young people against expectations, resulting in many mental problems. The value of comfort will vary from person to person, but acknowledging your problems is important for everyone. In the absence of sufficient (financial and moral) support from a captain that the Netherlands currently does not have, De Breij was at the helm on the last day of the year to express her support. She did that beautifully and honestly: she fulfilled this role brilliantly.

Read also: What are the best jokes about 2022?

View an overview of our theater reviews