Gruis / aan de twijfel

In search of radical insanity, the collective Werktoneel hurtles through the oeuvre of the Dutch author Willem Frederik Hermans.

In Gruis / aan de twijfel Sita dreams of writing a children’s book, starring Little Bear Bombazine. But in truth only a few short  verses have made the page. Troubles in the lives of her daughter Pearl and her husband Clemens keep her away from the typewriter. She drowns herself in a sea of voices of her motley neighbours, her own thoughts and the radio that incessantly continues to play in the background.

After Solipsists (2022), the KASK alumni of Werktoneel – Jesse Vandamme, Louise Bergez, Lucas van der Vegt, Joeri Happel, and Lucie Plasschaert – are continuing their investigation of human isolation. Whereas Solipsists focused on the individual consciousness and the extent of its subjectivity took precedence, the young theatre collective now welcomes us to the nihilistic universe of author Willem Frederik Hermans, populated with characters who together try to make sense of everyday banality, of reality that has become a barely comprehensible chaos.

When celebrated author Willem Frederik Hermans released his novel Uit talloos veel miljoenen (English: From countless millions) in 1981, most reviews were negative. The sequel to Onder Professoren was very lukewarmly received. Over forty years later, Werktoneel is not bothered by this moderate success. In their new performance, the five young makers bring the wry and hilarious novel to life. 

As an antidote to reason, they make the madness palpable and show that the world can only be understood from a manic state of mind. Supported by a soundscape based on the vain radio shows that fill the airwaves at lonely hours, Gruis / aan de twijfel forms an antidote to our self-proclaimed transparent and positive society, offering a critique of our desperate optimism about progress.