Wachtend op de dood
Nov 8
Maarten Heijmans / Xander Vrienten
In Wachtend op de dood, Maarten Heijmans and Xander Vrienten explore how closely Dutch songwriting traditions are connected to American folk, blues and country.
What happens when Dutch kleinkunst meets the Deep South of America?
- Date
- November 8, 2026
- Duration
- 75 min, no interval
- Genre
- Music
- Language
- Dutch
- Location
- Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam, Grote Zaal
In Wachtend op de dood, Maarten Heijmans and Xander Vrienten, together with a live band, search for the musical space between Amsterdam’s Jordaan and the Mississippi. What if Maarten van Roozendaal had been born in New Orleans, or Boudewijn de Groot in Nashville? The performance plays with these ideas and reveals how close kleinkunst and American roots music actually are.
The songs are about ordinary people and their fate, about loss and longing, and about what it means to wait in life’s waiting room. The answer is simple and vast at the same time: to live. Expect stories of loss, longing and the small tragedies of life, carried by piano, guitar and a healthy dose of irony.
About Maarten Heijmans and Xander Vrienten
Maarten Heijmans is an actor and singer who has become a leading interpreter of Dutch kleinkunst repertoire. Xander Vrienten is a bassist, songwriter and producer with a background in pop and rock. Their collaboration in Hadestown sparked a shared fascination with the musical traditions of the American South, which forms the basis of this performance.
Credits
Concept
Maarten Heijmans
Concept
Xander Vrienten
Music
Maarten Heijmans
Music
Xander Vrienten
