Voor het pensioen - komedie van de Duitse ziel
Voor het pensioen - komedie van de Duitse ziel
29 Mar '26
to 30 Mar '26
Toneelhuis / Olympique Dramatique
With Eve of Retirement (A comedy of the German soul), Austrian author Thomas Bernhard (1931-1981) wrote what he considers his best play in 1979. And in doing so gives us much more than just a history lesson. It is an invitation to continue thinking about how the shadows of the past still haunt us in the present. The lengths people are willing to go to in their quest for certainty.
Run time tba
Genre Theatre
Language Dutch
Voor het pensioen
The play is set at the home of the Höller family on Oct. 7, the birthday of Heinrich Himmler, former SS leader. Rudolf Höller, once camp commander and for years respected president of the court, is about to retire. Oct. 7 is a big day for him and for his sister Vera. Clara, their younger wheelchair-bound sister, is on the sidelines of this celebration.
-|-
She is burdened by the weight of the past and watches with sorrow as her family embraces atrocities. In the Höllers' claustrophobic and incestuous home, an ideological power play unfolds. A celebration that is about guilt, resentment, denial and moral decay. And about family ties that can never be broken.
Tom Dewispelaere about Voor het pensioen
“In his cynical 'comedy of the German soul,' Bernhard confronts us with figures who grew up in fascist thinking and have continued to cherish it. Why is that, what is so appealing about it? The shift in American politics, the election results in Austria, Germany and the Netherlands, the success of Vlaams Belang. Why is the extreme right being voted for again in so many households? That triggers me, and I think it's our job as artists to keep talking about that.”
Credits
text Thomas Bernhard
translation Tom Dewispelaere & Stijn Van Opstal
directed by Tom Dewispelaere
directing assistance Stijn Van Opstal
cast Pierre Bokma, Tiny Bertels, Katelijne Damen
dramaturgy Erwin Jans
-|-
video design Bram Delafonteyne
design Bram Delafonteyne en Tom Dewispelaere
costume design Ilse Vandenbussche
sound design Diederik de Cock
production Toneelhuis
light design Fabiana Piccioli
DORIAN: portret van een onstilbare
Close
28 Jul '25 to 29 Jul '25
DORIAN is a queer adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. The story explores the search for one's true self and the concealment of it, as well as themes of hedonism and beauty.
The End of Eddy
Close
25 Aug '25 to 06 Jun '26
Édouard Louis took the world by storm with his successful autobiographical novel The End of Eddy. Without much frills, the novel tells the life story of a homosexual boy growing up in a homophobic environment.
Giovanni's Room
Close
04 Sep '25 to 05 Sep '25
Director Eline Arbo adapts James Baldwin's timeless classic for the stage. A music filled performance about love, identity, and the fear of being oneself.
![[ meeuw ]](/img/singles/campagnebeeld-KLEIN-c-Kurt-Van-der-Elst.jpg?w=1198&h=716&fit=crop-50-50&fm=webp)
The Almighty Sometimes
Close
09 Sep '25 to 10 Sep '25
Director Daria Bukvić is back in theaters with an award-winning play about a brilliant teenage girl with mental health issues.
Madame Butterfly
Close
11 Sep '25
A radical and contemporary response to Puccini's world-famous opera.
Time for Joy
Close
11 Sep '25 to 28 Sep '25
Time for Joy is a comedic, sometimes absurdist, yet deeply emotional play that gently compels us to reflect on who we are to one another, on loneliness, loss, and our relentless pursuit of happiness.
De seizoenen
Close
03 Oct '25 to 05 Oct '25
Experience an all-inclusive theater journey that takes you through all four seasons over seven immersive hours. Enjoy seasonal side dishes and drinks, all included with your ticket.
Minor Music at the End of the World
Close
03 Oct '25 to 05 Oct '25
Minor Music at the End of the World is a performance in three movements based on Saidiya Hartman’s acclaimed essays, The End of White Supremacy: An American Romance and Litany for Grieving Sisters.
Phaedra in vlammen
Close
11 Oct '25 to 12 Oct '25
Phaedra in vlammen is a modern take on the classic love tragedy Phaedra. How can a woman fight for her own freedom in a man's world?
Kantjil en de Tijger (8+)
Close
17 Oct '25 to 28 Dec '25
Musical youth performance about a hidden Indian family history
Confrontaties (14+)
Close
27 Oct '25 to 28 Oct '25
The musical, energetic, and heart-stealing theatre adaptation of the award-winning novel Confrontations by Simone Atangana Bekono (Best Book for Young Adults 2021).
Prophet Song
Close
12 Nov '25 to 25 Jan '26
Prophet Song unfolds in a chilling and not-so-distant future. When a right-wing, democratically elected regime rises to power, the rule of law begins to erode, and democracy slowly unravels. In the grip of a tightening reality, a mother fights desperately to protect her four children.
Primeval and Other Times
Close
05 Dec '25 to 21 Dec '25
Guy Cassiers, together with Hotel Modern and 11 actors from the ensemble, creates the world of Primeval and Other Times.
Wie is er bang voor Sylvana
Close
13 Dec '25 to 14 Dec '25
Wie is er bang voor Sylvana is a political thriller about courage, identity, and truth.
Not Quichot
Close
03 Jan '26
In Not Quichot, six storytellers remember their good friend Q, but who was Q's best friend? Through bold tales, they take you on their adventures with Q across Europe.
Moeder van Europa
Close
12 Feb '26 to 25 Mar '26
Mother of Europe is a story about the capriciousness of power. It is about the struggle to be part of the status quo and to make all voices heard in historical narratives.
Giovanni's Room
Close
15 Feb '26 to 01 Mar '26
Director Eline Arbo adapts James Baldwin's timeless classic for the stage. A music filled performance about love, identity, and the fear of being oneself.
Copenhagen Trilogy
Close
04 Mar '26 to 22 Mar '26
A powerful portrait of a woman’s journey through class, identity, art, passion, love, and self-destruction.
Giovanni's Room
Close
06 Mar '26 to 08 Mar '26
Director Eline Arbo adapts James Baldwin's timeless classic for the stage. A music filled performance about love, identity, and the fear of being oneself.
Giovanni's Room
Close
20 Mar '26 to 22 Mar '26
Director Eline Arbo adapts James Baldwin's timeless classic for the stage. A music filled performance about love, identity, and the fear of being oneself.
German Staatstheater
Close
21 Mar '26
A wild whirlwind of slapstick, panic, and self-mockery: GERMAN STAATSTHEATER celebrates community and joy in a world obsessed with individual success.
Voor het pensioen - komedie van de Duitse ziel
Close
29 Mar '26 to 30 Mar '26
A dark, grim and yet hilarious comedy about a society that remains haunted by its far-right past.
Eines langen Tages Reise in die Nacht
Close
01 Apr '26 to 02 Apr '26
Family tragedy soaked in whiskey: rarely has anyone dissected the American dream with such razor-sharp precision.
Captain Fantastic (8+)
Close
04 Apr '26 to 08 Apr '26
Captain Fantastic (8+) is a musical adventure about a family discovering the world.
Prima facie
Close
04 Apr '26 to 14 Apr '26
Eline Arbo directs Maria Kraakman in author Suzie Miller's award-winning play.
Operation Hellfire
Close
11 Apr '26 to 25 May '26
Does international law really work for everyone? A political thriller about the International Criminal Court.
Saman Amini’s Integratieplan #2: Alles is Perspectief
Close
15 Apr '26 to 16 Apr '26
Saman Amini’s Integratieplan #2 explores identity, culture, integration, and the role of media with humor and music.
Sisterhood
Close
17 Apr '26 to 19 Apr '26
In Sisterhood, seven women organize a wedding party, but what starts as a celebration quickly turns into a confrontation of expectations and honesty.
Medea voor een toeslagenherdenking
Close
18 Apr '26 to 31 May '26
A confronting adaptation of the classic, based on true stories.