2010/06/04 Amsterdam
Ears
Children
On Wednesday night I went to see the stage adaptation of my novel “Tirza”.
A nine-year-old girl played the character of Kaisa.
At a certain point in the play the girl gets a pair of headphones. I thought that it was an aesthetic choice, but it turned out to be an ethical choice.
The director wanted to make sure that the kid didn’t have to listen to the monologue of the main character Jörgen Hofmeester. (I believe that at least nine different girls were hired to play Kaisa, so no kid has to perform in more than ten shows. This is in compliance with Dutch laws on child labor.)
Certain things are not meant for the ears of children.
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6 comments 
Snippets are on U-Tube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yM4A3t0Q6xgI saw great Dutch theater my last time there. Very impressive. Great tradition of theater there.
Arnon, did you like the play?
A curious inconsequence of the directors choice: to let a nine year old kid play the role of Kaisa and not to let her listen to the monologue of the main character.
I saw the play in the stad schouwburg and I liked it. I can`t remember there was so much swearing in your book.
Soetekouw
Yes, I did.Ariane Schluter
I saw the play too and I really enjoyed, but... the book was better.But maybe it's unfair to compare a book with a play.
I enjoyed watching Ariane Schluters acting life. I saw her acting in the movies of Alex van Warmerdam, but never saw her on stage.
And that one sentence, I hope I quote it correctly: 'Waarom moet alles altijd zo'n pijn doen'. Het raakte mij recht in het hart.
About the children acting Kaisa: was never any girl curious about what was said? And so that one sentence "Do you want company sir?" was on a tape. I allready thought so. It sounded a bit unnatural, but this is a minor detail.
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