“We thought everything was safe and sound. Then one third of Rotterdam voted for Fortuyn’

“I don’t know any PVV voters and I hardly know any Muslims,” ​​says playwright Tjeerd Bischoff. ‘In my life they don’t really play a role, and then it’s easy to be tolerant, to have the right, correct views. But where does this dissatisfaction of many people come from? At the beginning of this century, we thought everything was smooth sailing, but suddenly a third of the electorate turned out to vote for Liveable Rotterdam.’

Bischoff and director Jeroen van den Berg investigated where the social discontent comes from. It resulted in Fortuyn – revolt on the Maas that will premiere on Saturday at Toneelgroep Jan Vos in Rotterdam. The spirit of Pim Fortuyn is omnipresent on stage.

The piece is set around the council elections in 2002, when Fortuyn became the leader of Liveable Rotterdam. His party became the biggest in one fell swoop. It led to a political landslide, with major national consequences. It culminated in the brutal murder of Fortuyn in May 2002 at the Media Park in Hilversum.

Bischoff set off, into the wards. Such as in South Rotterdam, where there is a sharp dividing line in a certain district: Liveable voters live on the one side, and Denk’s on the other. And he spoke to the protagonists of that time.

‘We first wanted to create a performance about the political arena in The Hague, but in the end we found the rise of Leefbaar more interesting,’ says Bischoff. ‘In 2001 the red stronghold of the PvdA in Rotterdam was blown down in one fell swoop. That was the beginning of a new right-wing movement that continues to this day. Rotterdam is interesting anyway: raw, with sharp contrasts and many minorities. Many people felt uncanny in their own city.’

Bischoff spoke with Leefbaar party celebrities of the time, including Ronald Sørensen, Marco Pastors and Dries Mosch. ‘Mosch is an interesting man, with a remarkable life: he used to be with the SP, he traded in antiques, had a driving school, a snack bar, boxed and had five children with five women. He said that his son was once robbed by Moroccan boys. They were arrested, but when they were released they threatened that son. As a result, he had to go to another school, all the way to Delft.

‘Yes, when you, as a father, hear what Fortuyn thought about this subject, you quickly became a follower. Mosch later became Fortuyn’s bodyguard. He still regrets not being there the day Fortuyn was murdered at the Media Park – maybe he could have protected him.’

In his conversations, Bischoff found out that people’s need for a pleasant living environment is essentially quite concrete: safety on the street, inspectors in the tram, bulky waste that does not keep lying around. With all those stories he started writing freely. So no Fortuyn himself in his piece, he mainly wanted to talk about voters adrift and about the traditional parties, and where things went wrong between the two.

‘In the piece we follow those spectacular council elections, but as a second line I have incorporated the story of Dries Mosch. In the play his name is Cor and he tries to find a safe school for his son. I find how fathers deal with sons an interesting theme, because it also plays an important role in the Moroccan community. That personal character characterizes my plays; I like to show how politics and government influence everyday life. Therein lies the power of theatre, which goes further than a newspaper article or documentary.’

Theater group Jan Vos previously made Gas about gas extraction in Groningen, and Ground and mansholt about the problems of farmers and the relationship between urban and rural areas. ‘The common thread is the retreating government and what that means for people, namely that they are therefore at the mercy of big business. Money always wins, also in the piece I’m working on now about windmills. There is not enough countervailing power. My sons think I’m a bit of a communist, but I definitely don’t want to be a theater maker from the pulpit. We don’t make educational theatre, but wry comedies about today’s time.’