War drama 'The Stone in my Mouth' tours the country from 29 April

From 29 April to 18 May, the war drama The Stone in My Mouth - eighty years after the liberation of Brabant - is set in Camp Vught. The true story of the Eindhoven girl Marietje, on which the gripping performance is based, was partly set at this special, historic location. The premiere is Sunday, 5 May. After the playing period in Camp Vught, the performance will be at various locations along the liberation route.

The stone in my mouth is a gripping war drama through the eyes of a child, inspired by the true story of the Eindhoven girl Marietje during World War II. She was nine when the war started, she was 14 when the south of the Netherlands was liberated. In those few years, a major drama unfolded in her family, after which her life would never be the same again.

"And last night the war came... went all by itself... we didn't have to do anything... we didn't have to be able to do anything... the Germans did that for us... for free and for nothing..." She is a girl when she goes into the war... she is no longer a girl when she walks out of the war... meanwhile, she has grown up far too fast....

The beautiful, evocative text by author Peer Wittenbols, inspired by his own mother's life story, makes the life of a child during the war palpable. In this video, recorded in Camp Vught, Wittenbols talks about the gripping story and why he wrote this monologue.

The Stone in My Mouth is about loss, coping and forgiveness. But also about resilience thanks to sobriety, humour and an iron faith in the goodness of fellow human beings. Actress Juul Friday, known among others for the successful show You can feel free to tell me a secret, plays the monologue directed by Madeleine Matzer. 

The show will be performed from 29 April t/ 18 May in the barracks of Kamp Vught. This location is special because part of the story took place here, while 2024 marks eighty years of liberation in Brabant. From 30 May to 9 October, the performance will then be at (historical) locations along the liberation route.

Tue 30 Apr to Sat 18 May: Kamp Vught, Thu 30 May to Sun 2 Jun: Bevrijdende Vleugels, Best, Thu 6 Jun to Sun 9 Jun: Het Hornemann Huis, Eindhoven, Thu 20 & Fri 21 Jun: Kamp Amersfoort, Wed 25 Sep: De Schalm, Veldhoven, Thu 26 Sep: Groene Engel, Oss, Fri 27 to Sun 29 Sep: Het Hornemann Huis, Eindhoven, Sat 5 & Sun 6 Oct: Blauwe Kei, Veghel, Wed 9 Oct: Schouwburg Amstelveen.   

The stone in my mouth is A co-production of MATZER Theatre Productions with National Monument Camp Vught and the Verkadefabriek and is supported in part by Vfonds, Culture Fund 's-Hertogenbosch and Leye Fund Foundation.

MATZER Theatre Productions, the company around artistic director Madeleine Matzer, creates accessible performances on current social themes. Theatre that makes people look at social issues in a different way and thus opens up thinking patterns. MATZER makes, touches and connects.

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