DThe multidisciplinary productions of youth dance company Lonneke van Leth Dans connect well with the experiences of future adults, refer to socially relevant topics and invite openness, vulnerability and reflection. This certainly also applies to Het verrotte leven van Floortje Bloem (The rotten life of Floortje Bloem), a dance adaptation that touches the heart for everyone aged fourteen and over from the book of the same name by writer Yvonne Keuls.
'Blame game' in a talk show setting
A selection of characters from the original book are in direct opposition to each other in this performance in a popular talk show setting. They have a discussion about who is to blame for the difficult and intense life of Floortje Bloem. Because the talk show host is mainly interested in sensational emo television, the characters get bogged down in a hardened and sour 'blame game' and emotions run high. Floortje's decline is painfully visible in the increasing polarization and tribalism that characterize the current public debate worldwide.
Hope, strength and vulnerability
In this performance, solo dancer Camille Pidou depicts the inner life, hope, strength and vulnerability of young Floortje. Various well-known actors such as Kees Boot, Justus van Dillen, Claire Bender and Astrid van Eck play a role in the performance in texts by Martijn de Rijk. They can be seen on screen, just like the talk show guests, and thus form part of the decor. The Dutch composer Jacob ter Veldhuis wrote new music especially for this multidisciplinary production. In January 2020, Keuls' book won the Peter van Straaten Psychology Prize, thirty-eight years later. The book has lost none of its eloquence since its publication in 1982.
