Hardly any other theater maker is imaginable who has worked for so many diverse Dutch theater companies. Franz Marijnen was indeed a Belgian, but got so much inspiration and zest for work here that he can rightly be counted among the great directors of the Low Countries.
Marijnen passed away on Wednesday at the age of 79. He leaves behind an oeuvre that ranges from great classics such as Shakespeares King Lear and Becketts Waiting for Godot to idiosyncratic productions about artists such as pianist Glenn Gould and filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini. He did not only work in theaters: he directed in a sea fish trade in Scheveningen The girls by Jean Genet. His direction of the musical is legendary Me, Jan Cremer which Lennaert Nijgh wrote in 1984 after the bestseller by Jan Cremer. Leading roles were played by Peter Tuinman and Bill van Dijk, but Marijnen also introduced Flemish actresses such as Karin Tanghe and Bien de Moor. That exchange of talents between the Netherlands and Belgium would remain one of his hallmarks throughout his career.
After attending drama school in Brussels, Marijnen fell under the spell of the Polish theater innovator Jerzy Grotowski and his style concept in which the actor could not hide behind a text or interpretation but had to show his soul and bliss. Some found that difficult, but Marijnen always tried to get the best out of his actors. Even when he joined Het Nationale Toneel Arthur Millers in 2007 witch hunt directed with actors aged 20 to 78, a complicated job.
‘Nevertheless, if I occasionally notice during rehearsals that it is correct, then I can become silent. Nothing is more beautiful than people who are willing to go very deep into their role. To tell something about themselves. And if their opponent picks up on that, then something very beautiful is created. That’s the here and now of the theater: you can smell the actor’s sweat,” he said at the time de Volkskrant.
Earlier, in 1993, he directed in The Hague King Lear with André van den Heuvel as Lear and Freek de Jonge as jester, and that performance also resulted in a memorable actor’s duel.
Marijnen made his debut in 1966 with the Mechels Miniatuur Theater, but he soon left for the United States to discover new forms of theater there. After his return he went to the Ro Theater in Rotterdam, where he was also artistic director from 1977 to 1983. This was followed by directing at De Nederlandse Opera (Ithaca and Doctor Faust), Het Zuidelijk Toneel and Noord Nederlands Toneel, to return to Belgium in 1993 as intendant of the Royal Theater in Brussels. He left Brussels in 2000 after a fuss about the financial shortages of the theater there and was once again warmly received in the Netherlands, where he became the resident director at the National Theater in The Hague with colleagues such as Ger Thijs, Hans Croiset, Leonard Frank and Shireen Strooker. His last performance there was Brechts Threepenny Opera with Mark Rietman, Peter Tuinman and Betty Schuurman in the lead roles.
He finally returned to Belgium where he wound down his rich career. Many actors have been shaped by him over the years, the result of which can be seen in theaters to this day.