JW Roy and Frank Lammers travel through the Kempen again, as only they can. With Ach, Zalig Man they visit all eight villages, with songs, strong stories and recognition down to the core. A bit raw, with that soft g and eyes that shine as soon as the audience joins in. Fifteen years after the first round, the same performance still stands proud. With some extra wrinkles and grayer hair perhaps, but with exactly the same chemistry. Because the friendship between the men has not changed a bit in all these years.
JW’s ex-wife – with whom he still has a close bond – wrote a book fifteen years ago in which she interviewed eight characteristic Kempen residents, one from each village. Singer-songwriter JW wrote songs for it. “Every person has a beautiful story,” he once said. “And I tell stories with my songs. Some things you just have to do and show. And be drawn to it. If you don’t tell that story, then it isn’t there.”
“For me, every reason to come down the rivers is one.”
Both men lived in Amsterdam at the time. “Our daughters were on the same football team and we sometimes spoke to each other like that,” says Frank. There, along the line, in between the encouragement, the friends spontaneously decided to put on a performance. “For me, every reason to come down the rivers is one, you know,” Frank grins. “It was awkward but fantastic,” JW reflects. “Everything was sold out quickly.”
And it is no different now. In no time all the tickets were gone and on Saturday evening the village hall in Netersel was packed. 266 seats filled with enthusiastic visitors, all eagerly looking forward to an evening filled with the sweet tones of Kempen entertainment.
At the very front, first row, sits a special guest. Ed Beerens, a real bird of paradise, immortalized in the book. Now 82 years old, but still sharp in mind. He lives right opposite the village hall and, without a coat, leisurely crosses the street to slide in. He didn’t actually have a ticket, it sold out so quickly. “I just missed it,” he says. But JW and Frank wouldn’t be JW and Frank if they hadn’t arranged a seat for him.
“This is theater as it was once intended.”
A few rows away sits a mother with her two daughters, clearly a regular customer. They were also there at the very first performance. “Frank was so impressed with my girls that he immediately saw me as a mother-in-law,” she chuckles. The daughters burst out laughing. What did they think? “Oh no, he was way too old then.”
Why go back to the Kempen after fifteen years and hit the boards? “This is theater as it was once intended,” Frank explains. “Simply, in a village hall, changing between the beer kegs, in a room that is the gym during the day. People get a lot that they recognize. There is a lot to laugh about, but sometimes it is also moving. It makes them happy and happy, so we are not the worst to give it to them.”
“I’m just at home here,” says JW. “People know me here. And when I’ve been away for a while and come back, I immediately feel: this is where I belong.” You can put your shoes anywhere, he knows. “But deep inside there will always be that one place. The place where you come from.”