Cubes of young mature cheese, butcher's liver sausage, original bitterballen and beer. On Saturday 31 May, it was as if time had stood still for about 40 years at the Zaanse Filmfabriek. That had everything to do with the occasion. On that spot, once a rusty frayed edge, now in the middle of the Zaanse city centre converted into a tourist attraction of Efteling allure, Hollandia was born. Hollandia...
Hollandia was a phenomenon from the very beginning. Maybe not for everyone in the Netherlands, but those who followed things a bit soon saw that something special had been created in gardeners' greenhouses, a junkyard, an old school. Everyone wanted to belong: a theatre group around two completely different men who wanted to make theatre for farmers and workers.
Soundcloud
Author Paul Slangen has now - finally - written a book about it. A hefty book, nicely bound and with lots of pictures, plus qr codes that link to an entire soundcloud full of unique recordings. I devoured the book, which is quite unique for a book on a niche subject like the history of a North Holland theatre group that disbanded years ago. That it may be of interest to more people is due to the effort the author and his co-writers put into making it a real read.
At the presentation of the book, entitled 'You have no chance, but take it', Slangen said he had a lot of help from fellow reader Abdelkader Benali. He especially demanded a lot of anecdotes, because anecdotes drive your story forward, just like images, another co-reader's tip. So these fellow readers ensured that the book, which is after all largely devoted to the factual history of a legendary theatre group, also has a high Nescio content.
Two men
The anecdotes are legion, the images show similarities here and there. Two men in an endless, watery polderland. At the start of the book, they are percussionist Paul Koek and disgraced ballet dancer Johan Simons, sitting by a lock in Roelofarendsveen musing on an impossible theatre idea. After which a sailing boat sets everything in motion. At the end, they are dramaturge Paul Slangen and Johan Simons in his kitchen at the bottom of the dike in the land of Maas and Waal, looking at a photo of the view over the Waal, on the other side of the dike.
In between is the book that should be read by anyone who is or wants to be professionally involved in theatre in Hollandia. In a partly very personal story, Slangen describes how, as an ambitious theatre science student, he gave everything for a place at Hollandia. He wanted to become a dramaturge, but it took years before he got the job. Before that, he had countless roles and positions in the company where everyone did everything.
German repertoire
The book is a history book, but Slangen avoids an overly strict chronology. He does dwell at length on substantive considerations and practical consequences of the way Hollandia worked. It deals with the mostly German repertoire, from Buchner to Achternbusch, and the musical speaking style that gave the actors so much power over an audience that would possibly drop out in more psychological play.
So every drama student should read it, but, alas, drama students don't read books anymore. I heard this not only at this book presentation, but also during that of the book 'Theatre for the here and now', which founders Sebo Bakker and Karolina Spaić wrote about their ZID theatre. That ZID theatre is about the same age as Hollandia, and like that professional company, born out of a desire to make theatre outside the established order of the theatre.
Useful work
Where Hollandia eventually led to high art, producing legendary actors like Jeroen Willems and Elsie de Brauw, ZID dove into the post-war desolation of Amsterdam West. There, they are still doing useful work, so it was time to record their working methods. Not only to make others wiser, but also to give certain techniques the right credits again.
So-called 'storytelling', for example, a term coined in 2020 by a failed music experiment in Amsterdam West. So that technique came from Karolina Spaić, but presented that club as its own invention. We now know.
Spaić and Bakker's booklet is a practical book with tips and work plans. Useful, then, for students who also want to work with neighbourhood residents, newcomers, refugees and their stories.
Slangen's book is a book that teaches you - besides such practical examples - above all how important idealism is, how good it is to experiment a lot, to start adventures without any idea where they will lead, and above all: to celebrate failures. Because in the end, failure lies at the basis of every great work of art.
-
'You don't have a chance, but take it, The Story of Theatre Group Hollandia' was published by International theatre & film books, and is available from theatrebookstore.co.uk.
-
'Theatre for the then and now, approach and method of ZID Theatre' appeared in-house at ZID Theatre.
