151 years of stage pleasure and after -drinks in Elim. Jan Schonewille, Dirk Benjamins and Be Krikken together are good for theater association Tot Ons Genoegen. But in the meantime the last applause has sounded for the three scratchy grins.
Jan Schonewille has been there since the establishment of the association, 65 years ago. “I started with small roles and slowly they got bigger. At one point I had the lead, and then I went a little more to the background,” he says soberly. But for Schonewille it was not just about the spotlights: “The cosiness, that’s what it was all about. That was the best.”
Dirk Benjamins has been affiliated with the association for 48 years. He says he has ‘ran a little bit’ in recent years. “I have not been playing for five years. Remembering the text became a bit more difficult I am already 76,” he says with a smile. “I tried to give instructions, but yes, that is also an art in itself. And to be honest: it is also nice, that freedom. You are no longer busy.”
What he is going to miss the most from to our pleasure? It chatting after rehearsals and performances. “Then we sat down with the three of us. The rest had to go home, but we had the time.”
At the age of 80 is the nestor of the company. After 38 years and it also likes it. “I pretty much became the grandfather of the group. The club has changed, and I had other ideas more and more,” he says frankly. Still, Krikken looks back with pleasure: “I have always liked to do it. But yes, then the time comes and go. The time of going has now come.”
Last Friday evening Krikken played one last time. “I had a role that I have never had before: I was a pastor. I had to talk about the flowers and the bees with some stupid stomachie that knows nothing. “
Although the trio no longer appears on the shelves, Schonewille, Benjamins and Krikken undoubtedly still occasionally dive into the audience every now and then. Or do they decide to recall warm memories at the NaeBorrel.