Living Quarters

Year
2005 - 2006

Creatives
Directors: First by Mark de Vries, later by Niek Groenewold, Pedro Gomes and Tom Wilcox

Production Manager: Jeannet van Dalen

Writer
Brian Friel

Synopsis
Living Quarters is a memory play set on an army base in the north of Ireland. It tells the story of the fateful day that Commandant Frank Butler returns from a successful UN mission in the Middle East. Hist four children from his first marriage all return home for the celebrations, and Frank uses the opportunity to introduce them to his new wife, Anna, who is thirty years his junior.

Unique is the way in which the story is told: not through conventional flashbacks, but through an artificial narrator, called Sir, who acts as arbiter and director, making sure that the characters' memories reflect reality. And that reality is a difficult one. In an environment of people trying to reestablish connections with their family, Frank's son Ben has a secret he shares with Anna, and the attempts to reveal that secret temporarily bring father and son back together, but ultimately lead to a grim conclusion.

Living Quarters deals with accepting responsibility for one's actions. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, but they have no effect on what really happened.

Cast
Marianne Bertout: Anna Butler

Antonio Borges Cruz: Charlie Donnelly

Chad Bullock: Father Tom Carty

Medy van Dijk: Tina Butler

Pedro Gomes: Ben Butler

Amber Poppelaars: Helen Kelly

Glenda Vasse: Sir

Anneke Westra: Miriam Donnelly

Tom Wilcox: Commandant Frank Butler

Performances
March 13th 2006: Universiteitstheater

March 14th 2006: Universiteitstheater

March 15th 2006: Universiteitstheater