Toneelgroep Maastricht and De Maaspoort present It was Sunday in the South in summer 2023. A new Dutch feature musical about the high water in Limburg. To the music of Rowwen Hèze, the poignant and heartwarming stories of various Limburgers come to life. This new musical is created by the artistic team of Dagboek van een Herdershond. The intended location is the Open Air Theatre De Doolhof in Tegelen. It was a Sunday in the South can only be seen 20 times.
Servé Hermans, producer and director of the musical: "Every Limburger has his own memories of the floods. In this spectacle musical, we make this history palpable. We do so with a spectacular set that literally floods. Old footage from newsreels, historical images by video amateurs and radio fragments give the musical a documentary character. The impressive oeuvre of Rowwen Hèze forms the soundtrack to which all of Limburg finds comfort. I am very much looking forward to a renewed collaboration with our brothers-in-arms from Rowwen Hèze and De Maaspoort, with whom we previously made a great co-production. It can't help but be a wonderful summer in northern Limburg."
Leon Thommassen, producer and managing director De Maaspoort: "We are very happy and proud that together with the top Limburg company Toneelgroep Maastricht, we can bring a story to Limburg that touches everyone. We all know someone who has had to deal with floods in Limburg. After previous successful collaborations such as the performance Pinkpop, we are joining forces again. This will give further shape to our ambition to produce ourselves and develop new initiatives outside our walls more often. Not only me, but the entire organisation, is very enthusiastic about the discussions we have had so far. We are enormously looking forward to the rest of this collaboration. TheaterDichtbij, the partnership that De Maaspoort has with the other North and Central Limburg theatres, is also enthusiastic and embraces the initiative."
Rowwen Hèze: "We look back with pleasure and pride on the collaborations we have entered into with Toneelgroep Maastricht and De Maaspoort in recent years. We made Pinkpop together, a performance that was a great success both artistically and for the audience. We are happy to entrust a new spectacle musical with music by our band to these partners.
We very much look forward to seeing what they will make of it. And of course, we will be happy to write a new song especially for It was Sunday in the South."
It Was Sunday in the South
19 December 1993. It's a Sunday in the South, nothing wrong. In Limburg, nobody worries about the continuing rain and floods in the Ardennes. They have lived with the Meuse for centuries. They know the dangers. They think. Until high water pours into the province. In a few days, large parts of Limburg are under water. 12.000 people are evacuated. The high water destroys a lot, but also connects Limburgers. Everyone helps. Everyone comes together. Something like this would happen once every few hundred years, but nothing could be further from the truth. It will happen again in 1995 and again in 2021. Limburg lives with the high water, because it will come again. That is only a matter of patience.
The spectacle musical It was Sunday in the South will be on from 19 July to 20 August 2023. The intended venue is the Open Air Theatre De Doolhof in Tegelen. It was a Sunday in the South can only be seen 20 times. Ticket sales have started via www.zondaginhetzuiden.nl.