How Clari Lambers practiced ‘the oldest profession in the world’ in Hoogeveen centuries ago. A performance about a prostitute is performed in Schippershuus during Verhalenweekend Drenthe

By chance, Kimberley van Keulen (28) came across the story of Clari Lambers from Hoogeveen, who was the manager of Roelof van Echten’s inn in 1642 and also worked there as a prostitute, during her search for a suitable subject for a theater performance two years ago.

Van Keulen searched for more information about this woman, but could find little. Historian Albert Metselaar helped Hoogeveen. “While we were making the performance, a bond was created with Clari. We wondered why there was so limited information about her. Being a prostitute at that time was a shame and we used that to create a performance about this.”

Various witness statements

Van Keulen distorted the various witness statements into events. “We converted how the Hoogeveeners thought about her into emotions. We see Clari as a strong, powerful and independent woman and that is how the audience will see her too. We can’t wait to share the story with the public at this beautiful location.”

The Schippershuus is one of the oldest buildings in Hoogeveen. It is located at the intersection of Hoofdstraat and Schutstraat and the building was built in 1633, commissioned by the ‘Compagnie van de 5000 Morgen’ as a steward’s home. The building has had several functions over the centuries. Bakers and carpenters lived there and in the 17th and 18th centuries, public meetings were held on February 2 on the square next to ‘t Schippershuus. These were introduced in advance by the Hoogeveen drummer. Since 1882, the building has always been a pub or café.

Clari Lambers was a prostitute and manager of Herberg Den Claerenberg, which was then located on Raadhuisstraat, where Raadhuisstraat now breaks through the row of houses on Hoofdstraat. A bit further in the center, but certainly not unknown. A quarrel took place there in the 15th century, causing Clari and her husband to flee from Hoogeveen. The argument had to do with Roelof van Echten and his steward Derk.

Van Keulen sent Metselaar sent a lot of information about the brothel and about Roelof van Echten, but more information about Clari is almost impossible to find. “She was not heard as a witness at the time, so the only information we have is the story about the argument,” says Rosman. The pair also asked for information from Ronald Wilfred Jansen, a Hoogeveen resident who published a story about prostitution in Hoogeveen. “We had little information, but we still thought it was a fascinating story. We had the coloring page, but had to color it ourselves.”

Passion for theatre

Initially, Van Keulen wanted to work on the story alone, but she changed her mind and called Sara. Rosman and Van Keulen know each other thanks to their passion for theater. Rosman is a pharmacy assistant and trained at the De Trap theater school in Amsterdam and Van Keulen obtained her propaedeutic certificate during the Teacher of Education course at the University of the Arts in Utrecht.

Van Keulen recently started her own theater group: MIK. A school for students aged 25 and over. “Registration for classes is slow, we are still working on that. That’s a shame, but we won’t let that stop us. And great: you don’t need to have any experience. We hope that at MIK people can express themselves through theatre, that they grow on the floor, but also on a personal level.”

And Van Keulen does not know whether the performance about Clari Lambers will be performed again after the performance in the Schippershuus. “Let’s get the Story Weekend behind us first and enjoy it to the fullest.”