Germany has 83 million inhabitants, but our eastern neighbors have chosen two Brabanders for the leading roles in the musical Tarzan. Terence van der Loo (32) from Den Bosch and Vajèn van den Bosch (25) from Oijen have been playing in Stuttgart since mid-November and they like it very much. “It’s really a party here.”
It often happens that Dutch people play in German musicals, but both leading roles? That is unique. With Tarzan there is even talk of a Brabant invasion. In addition to Terence and Vajèn as Jane, Ludo van der Winkel from Eindhoven and Elindo Avastia from Tilburg also star in the German musical. The people of Brabant are well represented,” laughs Vajèn.
Vajèn is no stranger to Germany, she has appeared in a German musical twice before and speaks the language almost without an accent. Things are different for Terence and he had to get to work. “It sounds pretty good on stage, but off stage? Let me put it this way: Germans are very sweet if you try your best to speak their language,” he says, laughing. “How well do I really speak it? I have no idea, but they respond nicely.”
“We met for the first time on the plane over here.”
Terence and Vajèn clearly have a connection and are constantly joking around during the interview. They seem to have known each other for years, but nothing could be further from the truth. They even auditioned separately. “We knew each other who we were and nothing more,” says Vajèn. “But our first meeting was on the plane to Stuttgart, on the way to the press presentation for the musical. We clicked immediately.”
That click also remained on stage. But they don’t know whether it is the Brabant roots that make the two match so well. “I think it helps that you have the same mentality,” says Terence. “It is also the realization that you can experience a huge adventure here as two people from Brabant,” Vajèn adds.
And a successful adventure too. “It may be the second time that Tarzan has been performed here, but it is really packed every night. People embrace the story and there are huge fans of the Disney musical who come to Stuttgart from all over Germany,” says the leading actress.
“I don’t say that at all.
Anyone who knows the story of Tarzan and Jane also knows that it has a typical cry. “But I don’t do that myself at all,” Tarzan player admits. “That’s from a band and I have no idea who that is.” Vajèn laughs and immediately says that Terence should not reveal that at all. “I’m going to be fired by Disney soon.”
The two have a one-year contract with the musical in Stuttgart. “They are now talking about an extension of the musical, but is that with us? Too many Brabanders in a huddle for too long is of course also difficult,” Terence jokes.
