You are my mother

Short English videoversion of the play U bent mijn moeder
written and performed by Joop Admiraal
directed by Jan Ritsema
camera Onno van der Wal

This version was produced by Joop Admiraal and Jan Ritsema on their own account, in Joop’s kitchen, years after the camera adaptations with the NDR, which were filmed in 1983. (You can find the German spoken NDR version ‘Du Bist Meine Mutter’ with English subtitles also on this website).

‘The play is about a 45-year-old Dutchman, who spends a Sunday visiting his 80-year-old mother in a home for the aged. He is an actor with Amsterdam’s Het Werkteater. She is an invalid shrouded in senility, drifting between past and present. What makes this delicate autobiographical exploration of family relationships extraordinary, if not downright unsettling, is that both roles are played by Joop Admiraal. Mr. Admiraal is indeed a Dutch actor, and ‘You Are My Mother’ is an adaptation of his 1982 play, directed by Jan Ritsema, that won several awards.’

(Bron: Admiraal/Ritsema/Werkteater-You are my mother-1987)
33.07 min