You're here, my love

Director Betsy Torenbos creates You are here, my dearest in close collaboration with Impuls and dramaturge Jo Willems.

Actor Joop Wittermans (79) performs together with a young actress from the company De Noorderlingen, alongside residents of the municipality of Aa en Hunze, performing percussionist/composer Jacopo Pisapia, musician Pjotr Jacobs, and a local whisper choir.

Composer Bob Zimmerman: compositions for whisper choir, sonnet, and percussion
Writer Lars Koning: text for the actors
Conductor Hans Kaldeway: whisper choir
Elise van der Laan: whisper choir répétiteur
Tamara Boor: PR and marketing
Photographer: Sake Elzinga
Sarah Pelupessy: social media
Translation of Shakespeare sonnet: Bas Belleman

Storyline

Anna, a young woman, dreams about what it is like to be “old.”
Through her eyes we see, feel, and hear — using various multimedia means — the world of the oldest generation. She wonders: how can life in Aa en Hunze resemble paradise more closely?
When Anna’s grandparents passed away shortly after one another, when she was eleven years old, she discovered — like every child — that life is also about mortality, vulnerability, and letting go; and that many things in life must be faced alone. Gradually, she becomes entangled within herself.
Anna is now 23. A visitor from afar arrives, and she enters into conversation with him.
Only moments ago they were strangers; now they speak openly.
They talk about our world and our time: polarization, book burnings, and a climate spinning out of control…
Small but necessary rituals are shared. There is laughter. What do you need in life?
Powerful monologues about reciprocity emerge. But does this mean something different to each of them?
Framed by a unique local whisper choir and live music, we travel alongside these remarkable performers.
An intimate encounter with the audience — video installation/documentary theatre and music theatre combined!

Many thanks to Impuls, Zorggroep Drenthe, Podium Platteland, Municipality of Aa en Hunze, VSB Fund, Sluyterman van Loo, Fonds Cultuurparticipatie, Cultuurfonds, Zorggroep Drenthe, De Noorderlingen, and the Houwing family.

Whisper choir workshops voice/breath and dance workshops led by conductor Hans Kaldeway and theatre maker Betsy Torenbos:

• March 2026: Nieuwediep (1x), Gasseltenijveensemond (1x), Rolde (1x), Gieten (1x)
  
• April 2026: Impuls in Gieten (2x)
  
• May 2026: Eext, in the church (2x)
  
• June 1–11: on-site rehearsals with dramaturge Jo Willems and theatre maker Betsy Torenbos
  

Performances

Doors open: 15:30
Performance: 16:00–17:15 (subject to change)

• Thursday June 11 – dress rehearsal
  
• Friday June 12 – try-out
  
• Saturday June 13 – premiere
  
• Sunday June 14
  
• Thursday June 18 (optional)
  
• Friday June 19
  
• Saturday June 20
  
• Sunday June 21
  
• Thursday June 25 (optional)
  
• Friday June 26
  
• Saturday June 27
  
• Sunday June 28
  

Location: De Hullen, Annen

Project Vision

Together, we aim to address one of the challenges of our time: the growing ageing population and older adults living independently for longer in the villages of Aa en Hunze. By intertwining the social domain with arts and culture, a space emerges in which residents can discover new ways of relating to one another. This space, where joy and emotion are central, enables residents to develop new social agreements.

We work across the following domains: social sector, arts & culture, health, and sustainability.
Two concepts — reciprocity and social resilience — serve as key elements enriching the project.
Reciprocity concerns enabling society and community to flourish. Important conditions include small-scale organization, direct lines of communication, and reducing bureaucracy within the social system. On an individual level, it involves mutual accountability and respect. More specifically, it aims to reduce:

• hesitation to ask for help,
  
• hesitation to offer help,
  
• and reluctance to accept help (Linders, 2010).
  (Source: Kees Penninx, 2013)
  

Social resilience does not concern an individual alone, but resilience as a collective capacity — a collective that responds to life events experienced by both older and younger residents in the village. It revolves around the ability in practice to recognize potential for meaningful activities and connections. It also acknowledges that older and younger people can fulfil different roles. No one is solely a young person, volunteer, informal caregiver, or a vulnerable older adult receiving care.

(Source and inspiration: Laurine Blonk, 2021)

Involving young people with the oldest generations is therefore of great importance and necessity.

(Stichting Be-wonder, 2025)