AMSTERDAM--The former Dutch colonies were royally represented in the musical theatre reading “Juliana, mother of the people,” in Amsterdam over the weekend. Princess Beatrix attended the colourful, cheerful and at times confronting and emotional show by the Foundation Julius Lives! of John Leerdam.
Juliana, Queen of the Netherlands from 1948 to 1980, known for her kindness, had a warm heart for the colonies and the Dutch Kingdom as a whole. Even though under her reign Indonesia (formerly the Dutch East Indies) and Suriname became independent, she found it important to keep close ties with all parts of the Kingdom, including the then Netherlands Antilles.
Juliana’s efforts to keep her family together and the people throughout the Kingdom united were exquisitely portrayed in the two well-attended shows at the Amsterdam City Theatre on Saturday and Sunday, held on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of Julius Lives! Juliana’s state visits to the former colonies were projected on a large screen at the back of the stage.
The main role was for Curaçaolenean actress Paulette Smit as Juliana who masterfully impersonated the Queen. Except for actor Raymi Sambo who played the first Antillean Prime Minister Moises Frumencio “Doktoor” Da Costa Gomez, singer Izaline Calister and newsreader Noraly Beyer, the crew was mostly Surinamese and Dutch.
The cast included personalities such as Minister of Foreign Affairs Bert Koenders (as the Aruba political activist Betico Croes who made a powerful plea for Aruba’s independence), Minister of Education Jet Bussemaker (as US President’s wife Eleanor Roosevelt), former Amsterdam Mayor Job Cohen (as Dutch Prime Minister Joop den Uyl), and former Member of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament Kathleen Ferrier (as India’s first female Prime Minister Indira Gandhi).
Interestingly, Kathleen Ferrier’s father, first Prime Minister of independent Suriname Johan Ferrier, was a dear friend of Queen Juliana. The production featured a rather intimate scene between Ferrier, in the person of actor Kenneth Herdigein, and Juliana showing deep appreciation for each other.
The musical theatre reading, which lasted close to three hours, was by no means an entirely pro-Juliana and Royal Family show. There was criticism of the House of Orange by a disgruntled Jew, played by Job Cohen, who accused the Royal Family of neglecting the Jewish tragedy during World War II (WWII).
Then there were the harsh military actions and the persistent efforts of the Dutch to hold on to the Dutch East Indies, the oppression of the South-Moluccans and their failed plans to kidnap Juliana, and the accusations of Suriname leaders that the gold on the royal golden carriage and the gold on the Queen’s crown were stolen from Suriname.
Queen Juliana was loved by the people, but she did not have it easy with her unfaithful and vain husband Prince Bernhard, as was clearly illustrated in the several scenes between husband and wife. Bernhard showed disapproval of what he called pacifistic chatter by his wife, forbid her to receive her friend and faith healer Greet Hofmans and even considered divorcing her.
The scene between Bernhard, well played by Vastert van Aardenne and Prince Claus (Thom Hoffman) showed the latter being a much wiser and friendlier person than Bernhard, who loved hunting and obviously less of a romantic than Claus.
Actress Guikje Roethof played Beatrix, who depicted the somewhat standoffish relation with her mother in two scenes. Beatrix clearly saw the role as future Queen differently, more business-like than her mother who wanted to be a binding element between the people.
The production didn’t follow Juliana’s life in chronological order, but it did end with her death illustrated by the choir that performed the song “Wi Tatia” (Our Father) at Juliana’s actual funeral in 2004, and Juliana’s message of love and togetherness, superbly presented by Paulette Smit.
