Yet those famous rush mats only play a limited role in the piece. “It’s mainly about the people,” says Van den Heuvel. “It’s mainly about the people in that city and what the fear does to them and how they overcome that fear. How they then decide to do something about it. It’s about much more than those rush mats.”
The play is about the liberation, about Van der Thijnen’s plan, but also about the people of Coevorden, who revolted. Just like then, local residents now also play a role: the majority of the actors come from the area. “Very important. This performance must be from Coevorden, must be from Drenthe,” says Van den Heuvel. He particularly likes this collaboration between professional actors and local actors: according to him, both parties learn a lot from each other.
Gijs-Peter Kuipers is such a local actor. Playing as support in such a professional production he finds ‘great fun, quite an experience’. Yet there is also some healthy tension with the actor, because: “You don’t want to go wrong next to such professionals”.
“It’s about Coevorden, but it’s about much more than that, it’s about this time,” says Van den Heuvel resolutely. The director makes no bones about what he means by that. “You should not only think, that ruler from the east, in this case Bommen Berend, but it could also be Putin, he is right. You always have to find a way to fight back.”
Van den Heuvel also explicitly includes this similarity between the relief of Coevorden and the war in Ukraine in the decor. He says that he had drawings made based on photos from Kiev. He had it placed in the church. “That just grabs your soul, because you actually also understand what should have happened here 350 years ago. So it’s not just a history book anymore, it’s become a story of today for all of us.”
The relief of Coevorden plays four times in the Stadskerk. The premiere is on Saturday evening, followed by a performance on Wednesday 7 December, Friday 9 December and Sunday 11 December.