speeltheater show

Reviews — AMERIKA AMERICA

Berend cannot hide from his past, not even in America

TROUW 18 November 2009

‘One two three four five six seven. Where can Berend Botje be? He is not here, he is not there. He is in America!’ In the performance ‘Amerika America’ by Speeltheater Holland old Johnny dances with stiff legs to the song from his youth. Five ancient old ladies totter around him but the music they are playing on saxophone, oboe, bassoon, clarinet and bass clarinet sounds lively and bouncy. This entrance by Rietkwintet Calefax, wearing grey wigs, skirts and trainers, is a feast to the eye. They can hardly be distinguished from the sixth lady, a puppet in a wheelchair.

In a picturesquely designed music theatre performance, present and past overlap. Berend is spending his latter days in an American retirement home. When he meets his childhood sweetheart Marie again, one by one, the shutters of his life story are opened.

Black and white film clips full of atmosphere take us back to the time when Johnny, a multi-faceted role played by Koos Elfering, was still called Berend. He grew up in the twenties, in a large family with lots of brothers and sisters. Life-size puppets in dark costumes portray a severe, reformed Christian environment. Father works in the textile factory and Mother tries to make ends meet. Their motto, pronounced with a Eastern-Overijssels (Twente) accent is: born for a nickel, you never become a dime. But Berend, a precocious puppet wearing a cap, dreams of America. Together with his favorite brother Jan, he makes plans for the crossing. Jan is a smuggler. When, one night, he wants to seize his big opportunity, things go wrong, and the family has to emigrate without him.

An unsolved mystery continues to hinder contact between the old Johnny and Marie. Why did his childhood girlfriend betray the brothers back then? Their youth scenes unravel in a complicated intrigue. New facts emerge continually.

Puppeteers, musicians, puppets and film clips interplay naturally. The visual climax is the exciting sea voyage: a ship full of puppets and puppeteers rocks among mountainous, realistically filmed, waves. The performance switches between life in the retirement home and the emotionally charged past. Gradually, it becomes clear that it is not Marie, but her father who played the key role. She reveals a shocking secret, that initially seems like a side-track in the play. But it draws the two elderly people closer together in a moving scene. The performance tells a beautiful story about emigrants and is a tribute to the rich memories of elderly people.

Anita Twaalfhoven

Heavy story in moving and beautiful performance

Gooi en Eemlander, 21 november 2009

Young members of the audience are in for a serious performance presented by Speeltheater Holland in collaboration with Rietkwartet Calefax.

‘Amerika, America’ is about grinding poverty in the first half of the 20th century and the oppression of labourers, about emigration in search of what in the end isn’t there, about the shocking way the elderly are often treated like little children and about incest.
That demands quite a lot of empathetic skill from 10-year olds. But the form in which the performance has been moulded makes up for a lot, perhaps for everything. In a perfect unity of actors, puppets, film clips and, last but not least, fabulous music, the company manages to completely convince their audience.

Main protagonist is Johnny. He is withering away in a retirement home in Michigan. He has only a suitcase full of photographs and his memories. The ‘Activities and Entertainment Manager’ tries to convince him that it would be fun to use the photos to make a scrapbook. With tireless enthusiasm, she keeps bringing him glue and scissors. But Johnny doesn’t want a scrapbook. Johnny wants to come to terms with his past.
When the new resident, Mary, turns out to be his childhood friend Marie, with whom he was once secretly in love, his thoughts run amok. Was Marie responsible for the death of his brother Jan back in 1923? And did she steal the suitcase full of money intended to help his family build a better life in America? But Marie has her own secrets, too.

The story is told on three levels. First of all, there are the actors who play magnificent characters. Koos Elfering as Johnny and Ilja Tammen as Mary impressively support the piece, but have substantial counteraction from a deliciously snappish Desiree Snackey as the Activities Manager and a moving Wouter van Oord as Berend’s brother Jan.

Amongst them, the life-size puppets move around in authentic-looking period clothing: little Johnny, who used to be called Berend, his mother, the young Marie and her father, the strict Minister. And in the background, melancholic film clips are projected: Marie playing on a swing, children running through the grass or lying next to a creek.

Binding factor is the Calefax Rietkwintet. With their music, original compositions incorporating many famous music scores (never knew ‘Berend Botje’ could sound so exceptionally beautiful) they not only provide a leitmotiv, but also, now and again, provide the necessary light-heartedness.

The five musicians play the role of five old ladies who keep Johnny company in the retirement home. And they prove to have impressive acting skills playing the old ladies. Beautiful performance that children should really go and see with their grandfather or grandmother. Because older people will recognize many aspects of their own past in this play.

SONJA DE JONG

	Reviews — AMERIKA AMERICA Berend cannot hide from his past, not even in America TROUW 18 November 2009 ‘One two three four five six seven. Where can Berend Botje be? He is not here, he is not there. He is in America!’ In the performance ‘Amerika America’ by Speeltheater Holland old Johnny dances with stiff legs to the song from his youth. Five ancient old ladies totter around him but the music they are playing on saxophone, oboe, bassoon, clarinet and bass clarinet sounds lively and bouncy. This entrance by Rietkwintet Calefax, wearing grey wigs, skirts and trainers, is a feast to the eye. They can hardly be distinguished from the sixth lady, a puppet in a wheelchair. In a picturesquely designed music theatre performance, present and past overlap. Berend is spending his latter days in an American retirement home. When he meets his childhood sweetheart Marie again, one by one, the shutters of his life story are opened. Black and white film clips full of atmosphere take us back to the time when Johnny, a multi-faceted role played by Koos Elfering, was still called Berend. He grew up in the twenties, in a large family with lots of brothers and sisters. Life-size puppets in dark costumes portray a severe, reformed Christian environment. Father works in the textile factory and Mother tries to make ends meet. Their motto, pronounced with a Eastern-Overijssels (Twente) accent is: born for a nickel, you never become a dime. But Berend, a precocious puppet wearing a cap, dreams of America. Together with his favorite brother Jan, he makes plans for the crossing. Jan is a smuggler. When, one night, he wants to seize his big opportunity, things go wrong, and the family has to emigrate without him. An unsolved mystery continues to hinder contact between the old Johnny and Marie. Why did his childhood girlfriend betray the brothers back then? Their youth scenes unravel in a complicated intrigue. New facts emerge continually. Puppeteers, musicians, puppets and film clips interplay naturally. The visual climax is the exciting sea voyage: a ship full of puppets and puppeteers rocks among mountainous, realistically filmed, waves. The performance switches between life in the retirement home and the emotionally charged past. Gradually, it becomes clear that it is not Marie, but her father who played the key role. She reveals a shocking secret, that initially seems like a side-track in the play. But it draws the two elderly people closer together in a moving scene. The performance tells a beautiful story about emigrants and is a tribute to the rich memories of elderly people. Anita Twaalfhoven Heavy story in moving and beautiful performance Gooi en Eemlander, 21 november 2009 Young members of the audience are in for a serious performance presented by Speeltheater Holland in collaboration with Rietkwartet Calefax. ‘Amerika, America’ is about grinding poverty in the first half of the 20th century and the oppression of labourers, about emigration in search of what in the end isn’t there, about the shocking way the elderly are often treated like little children and about incest. That demands quite a lot of empathetic skill from 10-year olds. But the form in which the performance has been moulded makes up for a lot, perhaps for everything. In a perfect unity of actors, puppets, film clips and, last but not least, fabulous music, the company manages to completely convince their audience. Main protagonist is Johnny. He is withering away in a retirement home in Michigan. He has only a suitcase full of photographs and his memories. The ‘Activities and Entertainment Manager’ tries to convince him that it would be fun to use the photos to make a scrapbook. With tireless enthusiasm, she keeps bringing him glue and scissors. But Johnny doesn’t want a scrapbook. Johnny wants to come to terms with his past. When the new resident, Mary, turns out to be his childhood friend Marie, with whom he was once secretly in love, his thoughts run amok. Was Marie responsible for the death of his brother Jan back in 1923? And did she steal the suitcase full of money intended to help his family build a better life in America? But Marie has her own secrets, too. The story is told on three levels. First of all, there are the actors who play magnificent characters. Koos Elfering as Johnny and Ilja Tammen as Mary impressively support the piece, but have substantial counteraction from a deliciously snappish Desiree Snackey as the Activities Manager and a moving Wouter van Oord as Berend’s brother Jan. Amongst them, the life-size puppets move around in authentic-looking period clothing: little Johnny, who used to be called Berend, his mother, the young Marie and her father, the strict Minister. And in the background, melancholic film clips are projected: Marie playing on a swing, children running through the grass or lying next to a creek. Binding factor is the Calefax Rietkwintet. With their music, original compositions incorporating many famous music scores (never knew ‘Berend Botje’ could sound so exceptionally beautiful) they not only provide a leitmotiv, but also, now and again, provide the necessary light-heartedness. The five musicians play the role of five old ladies who keep Johnny company in the retirement home. And they prove to have impressive acting skills playing the old ladies. Beautiful performance that children should really go and see with their grandfather or grandmother. Because older people will recognize many aspects of their own past in this play. SONJA DE JONG