- Details
- Category: LOO
When palace walls make themselves heard
Premiere July 01, 2022, Theatre Orpheus, Apeldoorn (NL)
Who does not know her: Loo, the almost 400-year-old palace of the House of Orange in the heart of Apeldoorn. But how well do you really know this diva with royal traits?
Loo is a dazzling music theater performance in which Marketing Manager Klamer and his assistant Alicia are in search of Loo's soul. They have big plans for the palace now that it has been completely renovated, refurbished and rebuilt. But Loo, played by soprano Laetitia Gerards, is an idiosyncratic lady who does not do anyone's dirty work. At least that's what she thinks, but then she doesn't know Klamer yet… As soon as Loo opens a palace door, Klamer and Alicia take a theatrical dive into her past. And this affects her own heart too. Nostalgia for days gone by, when majesties inhabited her, musicians performed in her concert hall, and she let her chandeliers shine during sumptuous dinners, makes Loo more candid and loose-lipped than one would expect from a royal palace. Does she stand?
Loo is as comical as it is dynamic music theater, in which one gets a theatrical tour behind the scenes of Loo. The setting in which all this happens is different than usual. The hall (Rabobankzaal) of Orpheus has been converted into an audience hall for this special occasion. While the spectator is served a majestic dinner to the sounds of composers such as Händel, Mozart and Strauss jr., an exciting game between appearance and reality unfolds. There Loo, Klamer, Alicia together with an eight-member musical ensemble and a procession of lackeys dust off Dutch history, almost forgotten stadholders, kings and queens present themselves, and bridges are built to the present. Does the 400-year-old lady Loo still have a future in 2022?
Loo is Theater Orpheus' second production. These productions are based on regional stories that have a national appearance.
Foto © Robert Voss
Credits Cast & Crew
- Details
- Category: LOO
Commissioned by Omroep Gelderland, documentary maker Olga Tops followed the creation of the production LOO - as palace walls make themselves heard and made a beautiful documentary about all the work in front of and behind the scenes.
Documentary © Olga Tops (Omroep Gelderland)
Omroep Gelderland, Marvin Hop, July 03 2022
- Details
- Category: LOO
Omroep Gelderland, Marvin Hop, 03. Juli 2022
De Stentor, Sandra van Maanen, 30 juni 2022
Amateur talent from Apeldoorn also got parts. From maidservant, statue in the palace garden to deer on the run. Koerselman - concept developer, co-author, stage director and music compiler - deliberately opted for a mix of professionals and amateurs, young and old. "That's what I like best about theatre, it demands a lot from me as a stage director. Leading roles are for professionals, but the combination produces involvement and uniqueness. It is interesting to come across hidden talents and surprises. Fourteen players from Apeldoorn and the surrounding area have supporting roles, sometimes several. They are my local tools. I ask a lot of them.
Loo has been renovated and is moving with the times. Yet for Koerselman the interesting thing is what the palace used to experience. Who were the residents? What was Lodewijk Napoleon supposed to do with it, why was the palace completely renovated by him? Loo provides a source of material in which I have made clear scene choices. From the revolutions that took place there, to the sad loneliness of the vacancy. What will certainly come in: the bastard children who were conceived by the residents. I connect that theme to the hunt around Loo.
