OP DE TERP ALMENUM

During Leeuwarden Cultural Capital 2018 theatre makers will make 32 performances in 32 Frisian churches in interaction with the community. The story of the performances is rooted in the local church.

OP DE TERP ALMENUM
Jacob Lous, the map maker from the Golden Age, is buried in the Big Church of Harlingen. On behalf of the city council, he had to draw a new map to represent the pride of the prosperous city in the 17thcentury. In 1614 he draws a panoramic or ‘bird eye view’ city map. A striking feature of this minutely drawn map is that there are people and animals on it. How did that come about? During the performance, we travel back to the Golden Age to unravel this mystery. 100 contemporary residents identify with their ancestors and play their role. With multi-voiced verses, contemporary shanties and a roaring organ they bring the Golden Age of Harlingen to life.

Google streetview avant la lettre
The church transforms into the map maker’s studio where the people rush in curiously to witness his creation process. As he draws, his sketches are projected monumentally. As a Google Streetview avant-la-lettre we travel with him through the drawn city. On our way, historical characters step out of his drawing; the fish women quarrel, the doctor sings an aria, the orphans hang the dirty laundry outside. The mapmaker is faced with a dilemma: how to represent the pride of Harlingen on the map? Does he have to eternalize those people?

History comes to life
All characters are inspired by 17th-century residents of the city. The lyrics are musical adaptations of historical poems and letters from the municipal archive of Harlingen.

Under de Toer
ON THE TERP ALMENUM is part of Under de Toer. During Leeuwarden Cultural Capital 2018, 32 theatre makers make 32 performances in one of the more than 750 churches of Friesland. Together with the community they bring alive stories that were born in local churches and that are worthy of being told again.