'You simply cannot, as a big company, just bring journalistic theatre.' So says Jeroen de Man, who now directs the watery spectacle performance Ondine at the National Theatre. 'A bit of diversity is just fine.' So not everything in The Hague has to be as socially relevant as The Nation of Othello. Sometimes it's also allowed to just be about love, in The Hague.
This time, the Culture Press podcast directly from the rehearsal room of the National Theatre in The Hague. I am here to speak to director Jeroen de Man and some of the actors, including Mark Rietman, about Ondine. Ondine is a 1938 play by Frenchman Giraudoux. That play describes how an immortal water nymph falls in love with a knight. Their love is eternal, as long as he is not unfaithful to her. And so then things go wrong.
Mermaid
In the game clips in the podcast, you will hear, among others, title actress Evgenia Brendes, Stefan de Walle, Sylvia Poorta and Joris Smit.
I myself only knew the Little Mermaid fairy tale before this, but, as the actors also tell me later during this podcast, that was just one of many variations on the ancient theme of the water nymph. There is even an illness named after Ondine. This is a disease where you can no longer breathe on your own. You have to consciously do that every time. That Syndrome of Ondine is quite difficult to maintain, you will understand.
The performance promises to be breath-taking. Thanks to a fine sponsorship deal with Dunea, the orchestra pit of the Royal Theatre can be flooded. Water cocktails will also be served and you can eat fish.
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