"Murder on the Orient Express" in DeLaMar Theatre

It seemed like a good idea - the poster was instantly identifiable and we both agreed it might be cool to actually get out of the house and do what real people do, visit a theatre. The fact that it was all in Dutch did not scare me, I thought at this point my command of Dutch should be sufficient and in fact we both excitedly waited Saturday as a day when we will treat ourselves.

Instead, we found ourselves squeezed in a packed auditorium and surrounded by fairly provincial audience who did not even bothered to dress up just a little differently from their casual shopping in a supermarket. I knew Dutch can be very casual but this was just annoying, it takes away from the whole experience. We felt like we are the only ones who actually made an effort. My friend disliked the minimalistic stage but I didn't mind, having just a few props (moved around by actors themselves) worked for me and it forced the production to be more creative. Unfortunately, the director obviously insisted on some sort of forced comedy so Agatha Christie's famous whodunit was presented as a over-indulgent salon comedy where everything was exaggerated to the point of almost parody. Everybody (starting from Remko Vrijdag as Hercule Poirot ) over-acted very badly in order to get some laugh from the audience but we were not amused. These things can not be forced. And it suddenly reminded me on a few occasions when I visited local theatre, just to notice how everything was over-baked for my taste.

It might be a cultural difference. I always found a stage acting a bit too much to take (even in my own country, it was insufferable) and preferred a natural, relaxed, non-acting style much more than what I perceive Kabuki style that projects to the balcony. Perhaps this naturalistic style works very well for the camera but theatre has its own rules and most of the time I think its exaggerated. I can accept it in music performance but it kills my enjoyment of the theatre. All this clowning done to appeal to the totally non-demanding audiences, its not for me. We just couldn't wait to return home.