Musical Willem van Oranje is a performance about a complex man - "Freedom of thought we would not have had without William of Orange"
"Without William of Orange, this country would not have existed," says director Theu Boermans. With the cast, he is currently busy rehearsing for the musical 'Willem van Oranje'. This will premiere next year in the specially built theatre in Delft."
Boermans finds it very exciting to delve into the life of William of Orange. A person who was very important to the Netherlands. And the fact that William turned so fiercely against Spanish rule was really not self-evident, according to Boermans. "He was born into a privileged Protestant milieu, an aristocrat with many privileges," he says. Because he inherited the title prince at the age of 12, the Catholic Emperor Charles the Fifth demanded that he also become a Catholic and his education continued at his court in Brussels. "He is thus initially an ally of, first of the emperor and later of his son and successor, the Catholic Spanish king Philip II. However, William does not agree with his way of ruling in which Protestant subjects are suppressed and hanged. After a fierce conflict between William and Philip, he enters the fray. He takes charge of the revolt against the Spanish ruler. A war that would eventually last eighty years. The conflict forces William to make choices and his revolt is not without consequences. "He paid a high price and ultimately paid for it with death. But with his action he laid the foundation for the Netherlands as we know it today, a country where you can believe what you want and be who you are.
According to Boermans, the fact that not much is known about his importance for the Netherlands still has to do with the underlying religious sensitivities. For the Catholic part of the population, the expulsion of Catholic Spanish rule by William of Orange and the Beggars was actually a defeat and the Protestant part actually a liberation, so let's not pay too much attention to it. But William of Orange, who, as a brilliant strategist and diplomat always thought three steps ahead, was in reality what we would today call 'a connector'.
It was very interesting for the director to delve into the person William of Orange. "He was an extraordinary, but also extremely complex man who went through a great evolution during his life and struggle. Certainly not a single-minded hero. Rather A reckless bon vivant, a drinker, and soldier, a waverer, an opportunist, but also a courageous, principled politician, progressive thinker and art lover. Because of him, we are allowed to believe and think what we want. These are things we now think are very common but they really were not the case at the time," Boermans said. "William of Orange is a man who took a lot of risks but fought for his ideal of an independent Netherlands and freedom of religion."
The musical showcases many facets of the life of William of Orange and thus promises to be a multi-layered performance. "You see the course of the Eighty Years' War but also the personal development of William of Orange. The story highlights his life on different levels: political, religious but also personal."
The musical uses the same concept that Theu Boermans and his regular set designer, Austrian Bernhard Hammer previously developed for the musical Soldier of Orange. "I had tried this form, the audience on a rotating stand, once, thirty years ago, at the Zuidelijk Toneel Globe, for a show that also played in a hall. When I was asked for Soldier of Orange, I immediately proposed and further developed this form. A connection between theatre and film. I realised while working on Soldier of Orange that much more spectacular things were possible with this form. I now get the chance to do that with William of Orange. "Technically, it is an extremely a complex performance. But of course it's not just about a technical masterpiece, the content remains the most important thing. Everything serves the story."
Theu is looking forward to starting try-outs with the show in January. The musical Willem van Oranje can be seen from January at the special theatre in Delft. More information at www.willemvanoranje.nl.
