Working group theater piece Mina Koes is the winner of Het Raspaard 2022 in the municipality of De Wolden. Last year, the group organized the play ‘The murder at the Black Hole’. The prize was awarded tonight during the New Year’s reception in the town hall in Zuidwolde.
“We are very happy with it,” says group chairman Boudewijn Bakker. “It took four years to get there, but this is the icing on the cake.”
More than 140 years ago, near the peat lake Het Zwarte Gat, a gruesome murder was committed on the maid Mina Koes. The play is about that. In 2018, the group began preparations to bring the story to life. The first performances were planned in 2020, but it was canceled due to corona.
“It was a pity that it couldn’t continue then,” says writer of the piece Jan Veenstra. In between the lockdowns, the group came up with the idea of coming up with chariot games, also around Mina Koes. “Actors drove from village to village with a cart. Then they would perform on the street.”
The jury consisted of the council of B&W and the previous winners Vera Vos and Manon Hessels of the Passion in the Countryside initiative. A total of ten different clubs claimed the prize, which is intended for a special initiative in the municipality that has a positive impact on the living environment.
Prior to the presentation of the prize, mayor Inge Nieuwenhuis reflected on the fact that the municipality of De Wolden has existed for 25 years. That was already celebrated a bit. Fifteen 25-year-olds were called forward and allowed to blow out candles together on a large cake.