I staged it 13 x since 1981. Doing it in Jena was a special experience. There was still the smell of Stasi and distrust. When i started working with my group, they were shy, but after 3 weeks stressdesigning we ended up as a wild bunch together.

Well see for yourself!

No related posts.

Related posts:

1. PRCcondensed1
2. Hard on love – an epic epileptic song by Fuck the Writer & MC Wisecrack
3. Depression Promotion Centre 2 closed spectacularly

Related posts:

1. De Lachende Rappers Komen er aan
2. Architects scraping skies…..bombers!
3. Wordtotem=Taaltotem – Concept for Dordtselaan Rotterdam – 2006

It was the the photographer Wink van Kempen – who gave me good advice and support at the beginning of my career and made brilliant photo’s for my catalogue Theatrical Research since 1984 and for many other occasions – who proposed to create a new artform: phototheatre! His motivation was simple: as theatre is only in the moment and evaporates in time and photography on the other hand freezes sublime moments into timeless scenes, why not use the latter to create a kind of stopmotion interpretation of drama.

The first story we chose to use for this purpose was that of Bluebeard. After some research it became clear that historically speaking there was very little to hold onto. So i started off writing my own interpretation in a series of poems in prose. In itself a kind of stopmotion. There was no real plot. There were scenes, suggestions of drama, flashes of metaphysics and pure poetry. The title i gave to it was Bluebeard paints his beard.

Then we started making the photo’s (slides). The first presentation was a tape-slide production we produced commissioned by RoTheater in Rotterdam. After one show – only for the group – it wasn’t shown again. The form was too revolutionary for normal people working in normal theatre. They were shocked and thought it an unforgivable sign of vanity that I had acted Bluebeard myself. How pathetic. However we weren’t allowed to take the tape and slides. RoTheater had paid for it, so it was their property, although they didn’t like it (i.e. grasp it). However years later we wanted to show it in a retrospective. We informed, but it had been thrown away when they moved into their own theatre. Unbelievable disrespect and stupidity. I only tell this anecdote as counterpoint to the silent immortal beauty of photography. Of course we had kept the originals.

In 2002 only the slides were shown in random order, projected on the name Bluebeard in Gothic letters. No text. That was in the Oh no not again exhibition.

But apart from the theatrical presentation, the photographic interpretation of Bluebeard and the poems in prose have inspired me to work on a graphic symbiosis together Willem Westerik. Here are the first pages of this work in progress.

Related posts:

1. No life without theatre, no theatre without life!
2. Crazy Nietzsche appears in Night of the churches
3. Presenting my Webmeister Helmuth Ziegenmalte

Special thanks Sonja Beijering. I remember walking her home, more or less tired and excited, both of us sexually united by the materialization of the maculate concept. Our farewell kiss was worthy to have been painted by Rob Scholte. Or even better by Whistler, who also wrote the book The gentle art of making enemies

Related posts:

1. 3 eternalfernalmusica
2. Wordrattle=Taalratel – interactive sculpture for Dordtselaan – 2006
3. Making art with reality – I call it: Suerealism

[youtube 3lNZmMv9WTk nolink]

It is also an invitation for the spectator to receive the actor as a guest. In other words: the company and the audience share an equal responsibilty. An ability to respond. “Havin’ fun ain’t doin’ nothing”, as Dr. John pointed out. Hamlet knew that already when he staged his little play for his uncle’s benefit. “Lights! All lights!” And the rest is clear.
There’s not much more to be said about the essence of theatre in my case (yes i plead guilty) or in general, than uh: it’s not a matter of practice, it’s a matter of “be”-ing, completely, without a “or” knot. Because to celebrate life is theatre. And theatre without life must be dead.I made my debut in a French comedy (Croque Monsieur) as butler, and my first fans were grannies ! My first leading role was the idealist Kalyajev in The Just by Albert Camus. I still like extremes. This was with amateur groups here in Rotterdam. I had the luck of not being excepted by an academy. Fate even blessed me with a personal theacher, the late Piet Eelvelt, who trained me with the Stanislavski-method. Hence the motto.In 1982 I staged my first interpretation (solo) of the Hamletmachine by Heiner Müller, the East German dissident. For me the Hamletmachine is a kind ideological requiem. Vive la revolution! Non, la revolution est mort! That feeling. It became the backbone of my theatrical career. In 2006 i staged my 13th interpretation with Eastern German youngsters in Jena.As freelancer i slowly infiltrated Dutch theatre and became it’s “Enfant Terrible”. I was even called ‘the poet’s poet” of Dutch theatre. In the end i forced (with political action, see De Bom) the Ministry for culture and public heath to have the dubious honour of financially supporting The Guests Are Coming between 1996 till 2000.

Related posts:

1. Heiner Müller’s Hamletmachine: Wild & Unpolished Theater
2. Be nice to your television!
3. Bluebeard framed in nightmarish phototheatre (1992)

My development as Omniartist had the following order: poetry, literature, music, theatre, photography, visual arts, film, etcetera. With Support Act Hamlet I combined all these forms for the first time. See for yourself. It can still be booked. Just send me an email.

Related posts:

1. Bluebeard framed in nightmarish phototheatre (1992)
2. Making art with reality – I call it: Suerealism
3. No life without theatre, no theatre without life!