That is the window behind which Brinkman Pontifically had hung a large rainbow flag. “I think it’s too absurd for words,” he says. “First I wanted to put it away, but when I let it come in, I got very scared. I slept badly that night. Will this continue? Does this continue?”
The police confirm the report and are investigating. People who have seen or heard something are asked to report.
Insecurity on the street
The intimidation comes at a sensitive moment. Next week Brinkman will play his own theater show, Lola’s house. In addition to drag and theater, there is also room for dialogue in the show. In a panel discussion, he talks to the public about, among other things, safety for the rainbow community.
Because Brinkman knows that he is not the only one who has experienced something bad. Under many Amsterdam queers there is a growing sense of insecurity on the street, especially at night. “Intimidation on the street is a structural problem. I missed a place to talk about it,” he says. “From: how do you do that? How do you deal with that?” With Lola’s house, he hopes to offer a place where everyone dares to share stories and can be vulnerable without hesitation.
A pink answer
Brinkman is determined not to get small: he does not intend to remove the rainbow flag. “Then you give the signal that this works.”
Brinkman is just as militant on stage. In his bright pink outfits – where possible combined with leopard print – he changes on stage in Lola: confident, shameless, pronounced. “Then a kind of force comes to me. I dare to say everything I want.”
Theater De Richel is also undergoing a metamorphosis this week. “All lights get pink filters, the whole house becomes pink, dear!” He says radiantly. “The designer just applied that he bought a hundred meters from pink tulle. I’m ready for it!”
Brinkman will be on the shelves of Theater De Richel next Wednesday to Friday in his show Lola’s house.