Yelling and raging, Jeroen Bravenboer stands night after night along the track of athletics club OSS-VOLO in Den Bosch. He plays the fanatical father who ‘encourages’ his poor daughter: “It is wonderful to be able to imitate what many children unfortunately often have to experience.” With the performance ‘Bosch Buitenspel’, Jeroen, together with 22 other amateur players, wants to hold up a mirror to the audience.
It all starts very pleasantly, the performance in the stands of OSS-VOLO. “Listen boys, I brought something nice for all of us”, one of the mothers shouts. “Cucumber, snack tomato: delicious!” Across the street is the audience, who have just arrived on bicycles.
“Throw everything out at the end of the work day.”
As soon as the children from the show get on the track, the atmosphere changes along the line. The parents get up and start shouting and cheering. “Yes, it’s great, it’s fun,” says Jeroen. “Toss everything out at the end of the working day. It is a pity that my daughter is the victim of this in the piece.”
Because the parents may wish the best for their child, the other children get off less mercifully. “I hope that Jip op hour face falls!” calls a mother. “That’s a real bitch. All she cares about all the time is winning.” Jeroen: “We show what is going on in society and we bring it to the attention in a playful way.”
Jeroen plays Demi’s father. And as soon as his daughter takes action, he goes all out and screams at the top of his lungs. All play, but based on truth, says director Talla Dirkzwager: “The texts were written after conversations with people from the association.”
When the performance is over, the audience jumps back on their bikes and drives a little further to the canteen of football club SV CHC for the story of a passionate trainer. For the finale, they go to the Verkadefabriek: the home base of the Paleis voor Volksvlijt theater company. The cyclists drive through the spacious entrance of the former biscuit factory and are cheered on by the players.
“She can’t go to the Olympics due to an injury.”
Then they see the last performance in the theater. It is based on the story that made the most impression on director Dirkzwager: “It is about a sixteen-year-old girl who is a trampoline jumper. She was supposed to go to the Olympic Games, but due to an injury that is not possible now.” The thoughts and struggle of this girl are in one piece with Sam Verhaeren, the only professional player in the company.
And so Bosch Buitenspel goes from exuberant and folksy to refined and subdued. A completely different form than the previous performances WE, ZIJ and ONS. The audience can talk about it afterwards. “Very nice”, two ladies judge: “Nice setup with the cycling involved. And very realistic what you see.”
The parents along the line, that was the most recognizable for everyone. “I can also be terribly annoyed by it,” says one man. “Painfully recognizable”, says another: “But that also makes it comical.”
Player Jeroen: “I think there are a lot of SIRE commercials that can’t compete with this. And I can also get rid of my aggression.”
More information about Bosch Buitenspel from Paleis voor Volksvlijt can be found here.
