During the Eighties, Wim T. Schippers wrote a number of plays for the theater, but none of them got as much worldwide attention as Going to the Dogs. For this one, which can be called both original and experimental, starred 6 Alsations in 4 acts divided over two sets. The play was performed on the 19th and 20th of September 1986, and because of the incredible attendance twice on the second night.
Schipper's old pal and collaborator Gied Jaspars had been trying to get Going to the Dogs on stage for a number of years (it had been conceived and written almost twenty years earlier) before finally convincing producer Diederik Hummelinck to book it in the Amsterdam Stadsschouwburg. This 45 minute TV version does not contain the entire hour and a half play, but instead gives a historical account of the premiere – including reactions from the audience. Amongst them are several actors who were familiar from other Schippers productions, although comedian Freak de Jonge declined to shed his thoughts. Also included is a short look behind the scenes, footage of the actors being trained by police dog trainers and several news clips from the Dutch News as well as John Craven's Newsround.
Audience members were provided with a booklet that explained what was happening in each scene. And for any dogs in the audience, one of the six actors, Helenes Rol (who played Hector) would deliver a monologue before each of the four acts (i.e. during set changes). In the TV version this was explained by text on screen.
This is how the story goes: Nimrod (Boris Vrolijk) and Bella Williams (Herta van Wageningen) are none to pleased about their daughter Bella (Herta van Wageningen)'s new boyfriend, Bobby (Victor Cronjé). Family friend Hector (who is having an affair with Bella) arrives to try and tide them over in Bobby's favor. He then suggests all five of them take a walk in the woods, where they meet British tourist Victoria Jones (Ilja van Vinkeloord). Hector immediately takes a liking to Victoria, who explains her husband has left her and gone of to Scotland. After the break, all six of them enjoy a meal in the woods (presumably a picnic?) There is a time laps before the final act, in which Bobby has been excepted by his future in-laws, but Hector and Victoria's affair is winding down.
That was how it was all supposed to play out, but of course there were some unexpected bugs during the live performance. The actress playing Bella, having recently had a litter of puppies from one of her co-stars, was only able to perform her part from a lying position. One of the other two females was in heat, causing the three males to pay more attention to her than to their lines. Indeed, the first thing that happens after the curtain rises on act one is the actor playing Nimrod taking a leak on some of the furniture. This could also be attributed to the dogs becoming nervous because of the sounds and smells emitted from the audience.
Although the second half is even more abstract and indecipherable than the first, the dogs did save some of their best tricks for last, like picking up a telephone and turning on the TV set (which featured a nature documentary and another Alsation reading the news). In reality of course this was all accomplished by the handlers throwing bits of meat on stage or positioning it under various props. Despite the fact that all the performances were sold out, the planned stage tour never came to be, nor was the play performed in any other country than the Netherlands (this despite the lack of language barrier and the characters all having English names.)
Needless to say, a proposed follow up play starring five cauliflowers was also canceled. But at least this TV special is still around to prove that in September 1986, people actually were Going to the dogs in Amsterdam and paying 17 guilders and 50 cents for it.
6 out of 10
Schipper's old pal and collaborator Gied Jaspars had been trying to get Going to the Dogs on stage for a number of years (it had been conceived and written almost twenty years earlier) before finally convincing producer Diederik Hummelinck to book it in the Amsterdam Stadsschouwburg. This 45 minute TV version does not contain the entire hour and a half play, but instead gives a historical account of the premiere – including reactions from the audience. Amongst them are several actors who were familiar from other Schippers productions, although comedian Freak de Jonge declined to shed his thoughts. Also included is a short look behind the scenes, footage of the actors being trained by police dog trainers and several news clips from the Dutch News as well as John Craven's Newsround.
Audience members were provided with a booklet that explained what was happening in each scene. And for any dogs in the audience, one of the six actors, Helenes Rol (who played Hector) would deliver a monologue before each of the four acts (i.e. during set changes). In the TV version this was explained by text on screen.
This is how the story goes: Nimrod (Boris Vrolijk) and Bella Williams (Herta van Wageningen) are none to pleased about their daughter Bella (Herta van Wageningen)'s new boyfriend, Bobby (Victor Cronjé). Family friend Hector (who is having an affair with Bella) arrives to try and tide them over in Bobby's favor. He then suggests all five of them take a walk in the woods, where they meet British tourist Victoria Jones (Ilja van Vinkeloord). Hector immediately takes a liking to Victoria, who explains her husband has left her and gone of to Scotland. After the break, all six of them enjoy a meal in the woods (presumably a picnic?) There is a time laps before the final act, in which Bobby has been excepted by his future in-laws, but Hector and Victoria's affair is winding down.
That was how it was all supposed to play out, but of course there were some unexpected bugs during the live performance. The actress playing Bella, having recently had a litter of puppies from one of her co-stars, was only able to perform her part from a lying position. One of the other two females was in heat, causing the three males to pay more attention to her than to their lines. Indeed, the first thing that happens after the curtain rises on act one is the actor playing Nimrod taking a leak on some of the furniture. This could also be attributed to the dogs becoming nervous because of the sounds and smells emitted from the audience.
Although the second half is even more abstract and indecipherable than the first, the dogs did save some of their best tricks for last, like picking up a telephone and turning on the TV set (which featured a nature documentary and another Alsation reading the news). In reality of course this was all accomplished by the handlers throwing bits of meat on stage or positioning it under various props. Despite the fact that all the performances were sold out, the planned stage tour never came to be, nor was the play performed in any other country than the Netherlands (this despite the lack of language barrier and the characters all having English names.)
Needless to say, a proposed follow up play starring five cauliflowers was also canceled. But at least this TV special is still around to prove that in September 1986, people actually were Going to the dogs in Amsterdam and paying 17 guilders and 50 cents for it.
6 out of 10