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Three women among the tombs of a cemetery (on the south side of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem) The youngest woman (Hanna) is dressed in orange, the colour of love; she is cleaning a tomb with a cloth and a bucket of water The middle-aged woman (Miryam, the Tower) is dressed in blue, the colour of faith; she is lying on one of the paths of flat stones The oldest woman (Miryam, the mother) is dressed in green, the colour of hope; she looks out over the part of the cemetery that is located in the theatre hall MIRYAM, the mother [1-117] Hello, I am Miryam - Maria, say the Greeks I married the crown prince We helped everyone who needed it because that is what it is all about When you are king - crowned or unofficial - you live for everyone's well-being [10] That is The Way All God's ways lead to our neighbours It was not easy for the most important part of the country was occupied by the Romans and we, in the outlying areas were being watched To them we were enemies [20] insurgents, murderers They understood nothing of our faith, simply appointing high priests who were not even priests The real high priest was an exile who travelled along the border and discussed the revolution - the reconquest of the country - [30] with young people Until the cavalry arrived and arrested him They took him along, far away to the fort where the king's birthday was being celebrated and Princess Salome was dancing The men stared at her bare belly and the king challenged her [40] to make a wish The girl consulted her mother, the queen and then asked for the head of the saint To her dismay she received it, briefly, out of respect no, out of mockery, the head was given to the relatives which strengthened them in their revolt [50] Of course, there was a successor: Simeon, the son of Jonah Our eldest son anointed him as the new high priest - in exile, just as we too had to live, yonder in Galilee MIRYAM, the Tower [] [MT] [MM][1-220] Hello, I am Miryam - the Mirjam with the title 'The Tower' Premise Synopsis Summary Years |
Amsterdam, 2026-10-31
Collection: The Twists of The Way
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Play 1,500 words, 100 minutes running time To the left: an alley leads from the invisible street out to the front of the stage and then runs to the right, past a simple back room with a table and chairs, and a chest with a cloth over it, on which loaves of bread lie To the right: along the alley lies also the courtyard of the house, with a large tree and a pile of bulrush bundles Eva (70 years old) is dressed in red, the colour of passion; she is mending a dress Rana (60 years old) is dressed in purple, the royal colour; she is sitting at a table writing Zina (40 years old) is dressed in green, the colour of growth; she comes out of another room with two baskets, puts the loaves of bread in them, and addresses the audience in the theatre hall
First Act: The Major-domo ZINA [1-12] Ah, you are here! Then we can begin our story To tell or to keep silent that is the question in our country But that does not matter It is and remains our country - different from your country [10] And it is our time Long before your time But the story is also your story Rana stops writing Eva has given the dress to Zainab, who holds it out in front of her; Eva turns to face the audience Rana looks thoughtfully ahead Eva folds her hands over her mouth and Zina returns; she stops before the courtyard Zina sniffs the air and enters hesitantly End of the first act Second act: The Lieutenant Between the alley and the courtyard, a gate has been woven from the bulrush; the women insert palm branches into it End of the second act Third act: Honourable Life A strong wind; the gate has blown down and the tree has fallen on the roof of the back room; the roof has collapsed; the women are sitting on the ground and attaching ropes to a large canvas The wind is dying down From the alley, the women throw the ropes into the back room; there they pick up the ropes; in the corners, they throw the ropes over to the courtyard In the courtyard, the women pull the canvas taut over the back room; where the tree lies, they must wriggle the canvas down The canvas lies over the back room; now it needs to be lashed down Eva pulls hard on one of the ropes Zina ties a rope to the chest next to the door to the courtyard EVA [-] [E] [R] [Z] If something is possible if it could have happened then that is of interest to neighbours and girlfriends And the men who pick up on some of it are quick to pass judgment because no one is innocent so it must be true When a woman turns out to have been home alone she may have had visitors and been seduced into intimacies and if there are false witnesses who accuse her - with titillating details of a wrinkled dress and tousled hair after the description of a hasty shadow in her street - then that can be enough then she can already be condemned out of envy Premise Synopsis Summary Years |
Amsterdam, 2026-10-31
Collection: The Twists of Power
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Darkness Rumbling in the distance The wind is picking up As it gets light, the wind dies down There is a large tent Four shadows of women in the tent Miryam (seventy years old) and Rebecca (twenty years old) are working at a simple loom Emzara (fifty years old) is spinning wool with a spindle Lilith (thirty years old) is dancing Lilith comes out as a belly dancer and makes graceful movements with her arms; while she lightly addresses the people in the hall, she continues to dance a little [1-52] How do you tell something? How do you tell your children for example, where grandpa and grandma come from? Cain invented God God had drawn Grandpa out of the clay and made Grandma from a rib of Adam Cain didn't know how it worked yet Man's small trunk actually came later, as an addition to the female-human, and now that we know that, we must call it what it is: God created the female-human and with an adaption the male-human as well No more man and wo-man! No ish and ish-sha And while we're at it we'll also do something about the use of the words fairy and whore; you could expand them to man-fairy and man-whore bi- and non-bi-fairy and -whore trans-fairy and trans-whore - there's no end to it, but personally I prefer to keep it simple: no more fairy and whore! I do not exist to be looked at but not seen and I am certainly not a man-nequin, a little man! Lilith pauses for a moment It has become lighter in the tent by now Fairies are simply spirits So call them that: spirits And male-humans lie down next to a female-human more easily than vice versa, so in practice there are more male-whores than female-whores Many more male-humans rape At the word rape, Emzara looks up While Lilith continues speaking, Emzara stands up and walks through the tent a female-human than vice versa They are the whores! For female-humans, the term is discriminatory, stigmatising, unusable! Male-humans are whores if they are looking for an opportunity to stick their aroused little trunk into another human Emzara looks intently at Lilith While Lilith continues speaking, Emzara walks towards her She sits down close to her Whores are humans, yeah who have many sexual partners Call them humpers - male, female, whatever Humper is a word that is usable for everyone, just like the word human In society everyone is: human! Only at home does a gender difference remain At home, we hold the words father and mother in high regard due to the biological difference in bringing children into the world and in the functioning of mothers and fathers Short speaking break How do you tell something? Which words are correct? Cain invented God as our father-mother Adam and I are humans and then, when I was ready I let him come inside me for the first time... and Cain was born Our lives changed! We enjoyed our baby but the time of paradise was over From then on, Adam often went alone [130] I had taught him to pay attention to the locations of the fruit trees and to trust his nose to know where the fruit is ripe And I had taught him to get up earlier than the others, to go out in the moonlight to be the first just a little further away [140] the one who picks the ripe fruit He was not entirely satisfied with that, he felt his pride wounded And I remember that he didn't dare to eat a fruit, but because I didn't get sick from it I was able to tempt him to take a bite Still, he got angry [150] instead of thanking me Later he came around, but he never considered fruit-picking hís job Cain soon noticed that and then came up with paradise with the tree and the serpent and God's prohibition because once you have God in your head you can't get him out you always have to invent a sequel [160] like the story of the apple Now it is Rebecca who looks up and sits closer or the fig, a ripe fruit with the serpent that tempted us and the knowledge we gained and the journey we made Adam walked ahead He knew the way, he said And I kept my mouth shut He just followed the river When Cain wanted to explain [170] to his children why we kept moving he invented an angel who had sent us away to discover the world and to take care of the animals and the plants everywhere And by the time of Methuselah his grandchildren had expanded the story even further [180] for if Adam and I were the first to have done something wrong then apparently it also had to be told who was the first to have killed a human Not an animal, to eat at a feast, and in winter when there was little other food No, a human! Miriam shakes her head and gives Rebecca a look And that was just pinned [190] on Cain! He was assigned a brother for the murder story They didn't invent anything particularly remarkable about that brother, he is merely a cardboard figure who has no lines for his role is simply to be murdered [200] For instruction and entertainment It did create a problem, though A matter of honour For the narrator did not want to be descended from a murderer! So, alright, he invented another brother! What do facts matter in a story? They called our third son Seth [210] He was assigned Cain's life but without the fratricide After all, he was only 'born' after that And now it was he who cultivated trees beans and grasses with edible seeds Now it was he who dug canals and built a house of clay [220] with a sturdy roof Now it was he who made tools and built beds while Cain's descendants lived elsewhere, although they did have virtually the same names That is a negligence in the story Why not change the names? Fortunately, the Flood provided [230] a solution: Cain's offspring drowned, and of Seth's descendants Noah was saved by God At the word Noah, Emzara looks up While Lilith continues speaking, she stands up and goes to stand next to Lilith Thus, the sequel coils its way through the facts like a snake being a poetic summary of evolution, from nothing to man, from wandering to a fixed dwelling place with customs and rules of conduct [240] until they are shaken up Lilith puts an arm around Emzara EMZARA [241-284] [E48] [L230] [M6] A fixed dwelling place... Fortunately, we didn't have one When the Flood came we were on the right side of the mountains But our relatives and friends were not God spared us, said Noah He went to look [250] There was nothing to see only water, he said Were there corpses floating? we asked He shrugged his shoulders Not that I saw, he said Shem didn't want to believe that He fantasised about it Later, when he had children he told them his own version when they went to bed [260] and he turned it into a fairy tale We didn't have a fixed dwelling place he said, except for that one year when the Flood came then we did in a very big boat that Grandpa had built to save us, and there were pens for all the animals Then we had a very different life [270] inside that big boat, well customs, habits... We would have been stiff with boredom if we hadn't been so busy feeding the animals and keeping the pens clean That is how he told it all That there was absolutely nothing to see outside - only water, water everywhere [280] Paradise had drowned too Emzara pauses for a moment Lilith, you know that you were in paradise What was it like there? Where was it? LILITH [285-296] [L242] [E48] [M6] That was when we were young and thought of each other all the time When we still lived carefree Without worries about the future of our child [290] It was not a special place only: a fertile place It was a way of life Being together Enjoying together Harmony Peace EMZARA [297-469] [E221] [L242] [M6] We Nomads see paradise primarily as a life in peace [300] in a land without enemies A free land, spacious with grassy meadows and nut and fruit trees I know three paradises One in the north: Between the Two Rivers One in the south: the River Delta And one in the middle: [310] here, where we are the Lowlands which were cursed but still: a paradise, ultimately our country, unfortunately cursed by ourselves - you couldn't imagine anything more absurd! Of course it was wrong What am I saying! Dead! I wanted to be dead! [320] My own son, no less! Like a snake, he slipped into the inner tent, pulled me along to the bed and wriggled out of his skin Excited, he tugged at my clothes, forced me to undress and looked at me furiously to silence me [330] Besides, no one was home and I didn't dare tell my husband Women are cast out for less and I couldn't do it I was nothing anymore, dead I wanted to be dead Where did I get the energy to get up and wash myself make dinner [340] and pretend that nothing was wrong and it was over and that he wouldn't come back? If only he had... Eventually, it ended His brothers caught him and told their father Who did nothing Not even when [350] I turned out to be pregnant All those months of tension Growing anger in his belly The baby had the same face and the same build as Ham What certainty could that provide regarding paternity? But to Noah it was clear He raged, shouted savage sounds [360] so as not to curse but he did put a curse! Well considered, at the table - the men and I in a circle and the baby on my lap He ignored Ham and struck him at his worst by pointing to the little one and saying very calmly: Canaan and all his descendants [370] will serve the others the nations of Shem and Japheth It was a punishment from God What else could he do? His honour had been tarnished and he was old, not as hard as during the Flood The way Shem told it it could have happened That he stood on the deck [380] and turned a deaf ear to his brothers and sisters and to his niece who herself immersed her little baby in the rising water which was up to her lips The cattle and the birds had already drowned It was a punishment from God We were inside the boat [390] hearing water bubbling from time to time, last breaths Of people we know Grandma's parents were too old to come to us, Shem told and he turned it into a scary story, with that niece and with my little sisters My sweet little sisters,... who in Shem's imagination [400] were standing on the bank, calling out to be allowed to come with us But, you shouldn't talk about that with Mama and the aunts Shem assured them: you understand they lost their whole family That is a sensitive subject you shouldn't make them sad about it They really couldn't come along! Grandpa had to be tough [410] It was impossible to save everyone The boat wasn't that big, after all And with whom should he draw the line? Besides, it wasn't his idea It had to be that way because of God It was Him who wanted to start over A new world, as it were For the children, it was real, even though Shem told it very light-heartedly As curious occurrences [420] which you observe from a distance, somewhat like I think God views people with wonder Short speaking break Well, Shem' story is not entirely successful because the way he presented it God's plan failed There was no new beginning, no clean slate The eight of us remained who we were and our children were not as pious as Noah and I If only that with Ham hadn't happened... Short speaking break The curse was, of course, passed on to the children of Shem and Japheth And they considered themselves good people To spare me, Grandma, and my decency they beat around the bush about what exactly had happened In their story, they limited the shame to seeing Noah's nakedness and it's a disgrace they placed the blame for it on him! As if it is touching that he, the great father of mankind would have been drinking! Besides, he has never been a farmer with a vineyard! But children believe everything And with this story Shem and Japheth made themselves better people than their pious father All lies! For my own good too they said, yes, if you are the kind of man for whom women are temptresses In the best families rape does not occur and if it does happen the woman must be guilty Guilty, even if she is your mother And now I sit here, outside the city in the land of Canaan my youngest son Jerusalem, city of peace MIRJAM schudt haar haren naar achteren [M7] [L242] [E221] [470] Jeruzalem, Jeruzalem... EMZARA [471-473] [E204] [L242] [M7] ...it is called, oh, may that not bring war! For you cannot undo a curse... LILITH [474-477] [L246] [E224] [M7] Actually, it is possible. A little For the god of Noah issued then, yes even then, his Fifth Commandment: Thou shalt not murder! MIRYAM [478-481] [M11] [L246] [E224] Perhaps Noah wanted to protect Canaan [480] from excessive oppression by the others REBECCA [482-521] [R40] [L246] [E224] [M11] Jerusalem, Jerusalem... is not a city of peace but a cruel rock It is Hell! Down there, in the gorge of the Valley of Hinnom, there is the gate to Hell! Between all those ancient tombs - close to the underworld [490] Here the kings Ahaz and Manasseh came to make a sacrifice when they went to wage their umpteenth war They offered sacrifices to the heavenly King so that He would grant them victory as earthly kings In full regalia they came to monitor the construction of the long trench and its filling with dry branches [500] which were set ablaze along the entire line just before the ceremony Parents had designated one of their children, a son or a daughter to endure the ordeal and run through the trench from beginning to end The kings had to set the example, had to designate one of their sons even though they knew the outcome [510] The participants burned alive and their blood flowed away into the chasm, into the underworld Burning dead, that is Hell The prophets made accuses but it took centuries for the valley to become a garbage dump to prevent the sacrifices And even then, the corpses of criminals were dumped [520] on the refuse and set on fire Burning dead, that is Hell LILITH [522-537] [L262] [E224] [R40] [M11] The Fifth Commandment does not work And God apparently acquiesces to that People just have to figure it out themselves There is something about men that they so easily lose their minds their ordinary, common sense and start fighting [530] And then they do not listen to nuances and explanations Then they deny the facts that do not suit them They twist around them petty and proudly; they are not as wise as their mother, their sisters their wife and their daughters EMZARA [538-541] [E228] [L262] [R40] [M11] Why do so many men think they have to be tough? [540] And we must be honourable and fruitful Miryam comes to stand beside them REBECCA [542-545] [R44] [L262] [E228] [M11] As long as we have sons! That is what matters! And of course, they want to be satisfied too... LILITH [546] [L263] [E228] [R44] [M11] And then they can be quite sweet MIRYAM to Emzara [547-554] [M19] [L263] [E228] [R44] You were fruitful You had three sons Noah could be satisfied [550] You say that he was a harsh man But in bed, what was he like? Relaxed, softer, attentive? Sweet? Did you have fun? EMZARA [555-558] [E232] [L263] [R44] [M19] I don't remember very well anymore It is over, something from the past It was all about him I adapted LILITH [559] [L264] [E232] [R44] [M19] And you, Miryam, how was it for you? MIRYAM smiles [560-571] [M31] [L264] [E232] [R44] [560] I didn't have a man, nor did I need one My brothers took care of the men I handled the women's affairs I didn't always like it but we also had a lot of fun You know how it is, in the women's tent And during the afternoon rest, you can make it as pleasant as you wish We did Some of us [570] My best friends No, I really didn't need a man in bed! REBECCA [572-579] [R52] [L264] [E232] [M31] I thought Abram was old, and not particularly sweet, so I naturally thought of one of the young men in our group There were handsome boys... In real life, of course, I avoided them I know about their fantasies regarding women; they stare at you EMZARA [580-591] [E244] [L264] [R52] [M31] [580] Exactly! When I was busy outside the tent, and the men were at home they aimed at seeing me The more attractive a woman is the longer they stare And you can't dress for it In the wind, clothes always fold according to your body They look, and they don't care that we see it! [590] They look, as if they are the wind and are touching our skin REBECCA [592-595] [R56] [L264] [E244] [M31] Al jong leerde ik om dwars te zijn Chagrijnig. Alleen bij jonge mannen! Moeilijk doen en brutaal zijn Dat voorkomt handtastelijkheden EMZARA [596-599] [E248] [L264] [R56] [M31] Thuis kun je dat niet! Het ging Cham ook niet om mij Hij had een droomvrouw in gedachten Ja, dan kun je het met iedereen doen LILITH [580-583] [L268] [E228] [R56] [M31] [600] Het gaf Adam een goed gevoel als ik ervan genoot, en dat lukte me beter door er wat romantiek bij te fantaseren EMZARA [] 297 LILITH [] 305 EMZARA [] 309 REBECCA 329 LILITH [] 393 REBECCA 397 LILITH [] 401 REBECCA 417 LILITH [] 421 REBECCA 437 LILITH [] 465 REBECCA 469 LILITH [] 477 REBECCA 478 EMZARA [] 482 MIRIAM [] 490 LILITH [] 498 MIRIAM [] 499 LILITH [] 519 EMZARA [] 523 MIRIAM [] 539 EMZARA [] 555 LILITH [] 559 MIRIAM [] 563 LILITH [] 591 MIRIAM [] 595 XX LILITH [] 647 EMZARA [] 651 MIRIAM [] 663 EMZARA [] 675 REBECCA [] 679 LILITH [] 687 REBECCA [] 691 MIRIAM [] 695 Het was een onzeker leven Premise Stories distort the events. Synopsis Summary Years A conversation about Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Moses. Through stories about our ancestors, we pass on from generation to generation that we are special compared to others. Four women who were there tell about their real lives. |
Amsterdam, 2026-08-31
Collection: The Twists of the Serpent
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Stories are fluid: |
Amsterdam, 2026-06-22
Haroun and The Sea of Stories (Salman Rushdie) - 1990
Fairy tale, chapters 4 - 9
Collection: Sludge
Tribute to: Rushdie, Salman
| There is little news, | |
| we have a toast and repeat -- | |
| our favourite tales. | |
| Er is weinig nieuws, | Nichts Neues, zum Wohl! |
| we proosten en herhalen -- | Lustig wiederholen wir -- |
| onze verhalen. | Lieblingsgeschichten. |
Amsterdam, 2024-09-05
Collection: Local traffic
| Human babies are | |
| infected from birth, with the -- | |
| story parasite. | |
| Mensen besmetten | Menschen verseuchen |
| hun baby's meteen met de -- | ihre Babys sofort mit -- |
| verhaalparasiet. | ihren Geschichten. |
Amsterdam, 2024-03-18
Two Years Eight Months & Twenty-Eight Nights (Salman Rushdie) - 2015
Novel "Two Years Eight Months & Twenty-Eight Nights" (which is 1001 nights), chapter 4 "The Strangenessses"
Collection: Wind
Tribute to: Rushdie, Salman
| Let us tell stories, | |
| because then words become worlds -- | |
| to be discovered. | |
| Vertel verhalen: | Erzähl Geschichten: |
| woorden worden werelden -- | Worte werden zu Welten -- |
| om te ontdekken. | die wir entdecken. |
Amsterdam, 2022-12-05
Words become Worlds (Ellen van Wolde) - 1994
Study, page ix
Collection: No wonder
Tribute to: Van Wolde, Ellen
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Everything is a continuation |
Amsterdam, 2022-11-21
Dreamtime
Collection: Secrets & Believers
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They recorded four hundred |
Amsterdam, 2020-04-18
Abraham about his wives and his descendants
Collection: A Home
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Stories are too good |
Amsterdam, 2019-11-08
Collection: The Yellow House Museum
| My story is nice, | |
| but the reality is -- | |
| vague and threatening. | |
| Mijn verhaal is mooi, | Meine Geschichte, |
| maar de werkelijkheid is -- | aber die Wirklichkeit ist -- |
| vaag en bedreigend. | vage und drohend. |
Amsterdam, 2018-09-27
A happy smile (Andreas Burnier) - 1965
Novel "Een tevreden lach", chapter 'De muzikant' (The musician)
Collection: Appearances
Tribute to: Burnier, Andreas
| Overgrowing graves, | |
| overbridging time: ivy -- | |
| of all the stories. | |
| Over de graven, | Über die Gräber, |
| over de tijd heen: klimop -- | über die Zeit: der Efeu -- |
| van de verhalen. | aller Geschichten. |
Amsterdam, 2014-06-28
Poem "Epigram" (1999, Frank Koenegracht, collection "Alles valt")
Collection: A Home
Tribute to: Koenegracht, Frank
| People just repeat | |
| the stories from their childhood -- | |
| the children's stories. | |
| Mensen herhalen | Menschen sagen nach |
| de verhalen uit hun jeugd -- | was ihnen erzählt wurde -- |
| kinderverhalen. | Kindergeschichten. |
Amsterdam, 2012-11-30
Collection: The King
