De mannen Maria

As a little girl, Maria van Aelst is sent by her parents to 'the East,' present-day Indonesia. Batavia, the colonial headquarters of the VOC (United East India Company) in 1625, is a hot, foul-smelling mess. Girls are needed for construction efforts: proper Dutch girls to bear Dutch children. Maria is married off, but only a year and a half later, she becomes a widow. Even after remarrying, she remains childless, facing the looming fear of failing as a woman. Seeking validation and freedom, she aspires to attain a position of power and wealth. She navigates her way through the colony where oppression is the norm and, it seems like, anything goes for trade. She catches the attention of Antonio van Diemen, the future governor-general of the Dutch East Indies. At just twenty-two years old, Maria has already buried her second husband. And she is wealthy. Because instead of succumbing to the humid heat, she engages in trade to, against all prohibitions, alleviate the wait for a child. And because she wants to.

Actress Anna Drijver was deeply impressed by Anneloes Timmerije's book De Mannen van Maria. On Anna's request, promising playwright Maxine Palit de Jongh adapted the novel into a compelling monologue. Anna Drijver: "Everyone knows Michiel de Ruyter and Jan Pieterszoon Coen, but we have no idea about the women of that time. De Mannen van Maria tells the incredible story of an independent woman in 'the East' in 1625."
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Maxine is one of the prominent playwrights of a new generation and received praise for her contemporary play Vecht (Likeminds, 2022), about ‘het toeslagenschandaal’.

Olivier Diepenhorst is directing the adaptation. He has repeatedly delved into the Dutch colonial history and created acclaimed productions like Lichter dan ik and Gelukzoekers op Sumatra. Olivier Diepenhorst about De mannen van Maria: "How Maria van Aelst managed to attain such wealth and position within that male-dominated world is truly unbelievable. It's quite surreal to contemplate the initial reason for her journey to Batavia. De mannen van Maria is an exceptionally interesting portrayal of that time through the eyes of a woman during a period where the foundation was laid for the later colonial rule of Indonesia.”