The fastest, and most beautiful, way to cycle through Leidsche Rijn is along the Groenedijk, and then all the way to the end. A 20-minute paddle from Utrecht Central is there since recently, and for 2000 years, Castellum Hoge Woerd. It is a newly built idea of a Roman fort that guarded the ancient border of the Roman Empire here, along a ditch we now know as the Old, or Leidsche, Rhine.
The Groenedijk was a secret to me until it was pointed out to me by Google Maps as part of the best connection between my home near Beatrixpark and Maxima Park, where in Castellum Hoge Woerd Greg Nottrot and Floor Leene have created a wonderful performance. The Secret is called the event, and you should go out of your way to experience it. Not just because of the unique location (it will stay for a while), but mainly because of the unique idea of the Leene/Nottrot couple, who will not tell this story after 24 May.
Nottrot is a very special talent. Watching him at work is a great pleasure. More than actor or theatre-maker, you could call him a magician. He conjures stories out of thin air with his engaging style, derails them slightly and then makes you realise that those stories are completely different from what you initially thought you knew.
Starting in The Secret Floor Leene and Greg Nottrot tell of Floor's ancestral history, in which a bastard came into the world during the 1920s. Not entirely coincidentally, the couple themselves have also just given birth to a child, and they weave that personal story beautifully through the documentary-like performance. By the way, without it getting soggy anywhere, which is quite an achievement for a couple of fresh parents still stiff with cuddle hormones.
That the overall story eventually takes a very surprising turn in the second half of the evening, after the divine food you get included with the performance, is the most genius part of this special event. In the bare shell of the under-construction Podium Hoge Woerd (managed by Theatre Kikker), the audience gets to work with stories themselves to find out that people can very easily collectively engage with history.
So apart from that divine food and that special location, you also discover something very relatable about secrets. Namely: we usually cherish the same secret all together. Which also makes secrets something that binds us together.
Nottrot has made this kind of live investigative theatre his métier. It produces theatre that perfectly suits an audience that does not have an immediate appetite for hermetic art, but is looking for a glowing, high-quality experience. It also fits into a tradition that Nottrot came up with, together with columnist and universal host Oscar Kocken: the Order of the Day. This live current affairs show also constantly amazes new audiences in the places (usually outside Amsterdam) where they appear. It is variety but also great art. A combination you won't find anywhere else.
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