‘GEEN LIEFDE ZONDER VRIJHEID’: A SINCERE ODE TO OUR ANCESTORS IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE

– ‘Geen liefde zonder vrijheid’ (No Love Without Freedom), musical storytelling by Volksoperahuis, seen at De Parade in Den Haag on July 7^th 2013, 18:45. Language: Dutch/Papiamentu –

By Jairo Lobo

Sometimes in life you unexpectedly stumble upon these marvelous little delights; tiny works of art that bear witness to the power and importance of sincerity and love, both in daily life and within the art itself. ‘Geen liefde zonder vrijheid’ (No Love Without Freedom) is one of those. Bringing new meaning to the genre of old-fashioned musical storytelling, it is a tribute to our ancestors in multiple ways. It tells us the age-old slave legend of Buchi Fil and Mosa Nena. Employing the traditional theatrical form of our ancestors, it uses the rhythms and melodies they once created and the performers themselves are the embodiment in offspring of said ancestors.

The story takes you two centuries back in time, to the island of Curaçao in de 18^th century. Mosa Nena is the most beautiful girl of the plantation. She gains power over the fate of her fellow slaves, by giving herself to the ‘shon’ (the slave owner), much to the chagrin of his wife. When the shon buys a new slave from a downtown estate, the safe relationships that everybody, slave and master alike, had gotten so used to, suddenly change. Buchi Fil is a very proud slave who refuses to bow to his owners, despite the harsh whippings he receives. Nena confronts him with the immense danger he subsequently puts all of them in, while he confronts her with her own fears and the unimaginable extent of her conformism: giving her body to her oppressor, in exchange for ‘good treatment’.

‘Geen liefde zonder vrijheid’ demonstrates the power of traditional musical storytelling, by focusing entirely on the seamless cadence between the musical instruments, the storyteller, the singers and the engaging and vivacious words written by Jef Hofmeister. There is nothing that distracts from the essence of the story. A simple canvas backdrop depicting the Caribbean horizon, a wooden palm tree, a pair of weathered shutters and some sand on the floor are all that’s needed to turn the tiny circus tent on the festival grounds into the perfect setting to immerse the audience in a lifelike witnessing of this tragic love story. The placement of the performers in a half circle split in two, underlines the controversy of the time. To one side of the stage are the black percussionists dressed in white; while on the opposite side are the white members of the Dudok String Quartet, dressed in black. In the middle is the main character Mosa Nena, beautifully performed by Izaline Calister, dressed in a bright red summer dress with a flower in her hair. On the far ends of the half-moon shape are two adversaries: the energetic storyteller Raymi Sambo, who also plays the role of Thomá di Kenepa (Buchi Fil) and Kees Scholten who effortlessly switches between the roles of the shon, his wife and a witty Amsterdam folk singer.

Moving back and forth between their basic position and the center of the stage, Calister, Scholten and Sambo each add equal parts of dramatic conviction, melancholy and luckily also lots of humor and fun to the performance, which makes this sad story more bearable. While not in their individual roles, all the actors and musicians remain on stage and in full view of the audience for the entire duration of the piece, participating as spectators from the opposite side of the circular tent. Mirroring their reactions and emotions to the audience, this creates a wonderful tension that demands one’s undivided attention from beginning to end.

Compassion in human coexistence, beyond the barriers of collectively instilled resentment, is theatrically underlined in an ingenious manner by director Kees Scholten. Mosa Nena falls in mad, passionate love with Buchi Fil and the show reaches its climax when Buchi Fil hears of the shon’s retaliation. He leaves the stage in dismay and after only a brief moment of inner deliberation, Nena walks over to the large storybook set on a stand at the edge of the stage. She turns a few pages and then determinedly continues the story where Buchi Fil left off, already knowing how it ends, but keeping the audience waiting for it, until the very last moment.

Coming out of the cozy circus tent in a serene state, contemplating what I had just seen, I caught the observant critic in me trying to find something in the show that wasn’t to my liking, but I couldn’t. Right in that moment I realized that sometimes, something is simply perfect just the way it is…

Geen liefde zonder vrijheid is a production of musical theatre collective ‘Volksoperahuis’

For play dates, please follow this link: http://het.volksoperahuis.nl/?page_id=236

Idea: Izaline Calister

Director: Kees Scholten

Text: Jef Hofmeister

Music: Izaline Calister and Jef Hofmeister

Storyteller: Jörgen Raymann/Raymi Sambo

Lead Singers/Actors: Izaline Calister en Kees Scholten

String arrangements: Marc Bischoff

Musicians: Roël Calister (percussion), Vernon Chatlein (percussion), the Dudok String Quartet, Ed Verhoeff (guitar)

Dance: Untold Empowerment