Oeuvre Prize for Waardenberg and De Jong | Culture

entertainment">The board of the Association of Theater and Concertgebouw Directors (VSCD) about the duo: „Since the eighties they have not only shaken up the cabaret, but have changed it permanently. The duo push each other to great heights and extreme extremes with physical acts that chased the dust from many a hall. They pay little attention to the audience, who is sometimes made part of the madness, but just as often a breathless spectator of their inimitable absurdities. Whether they paint a beam at a great height or treat each other with skippy balls, at Waardenberg and De Jong you always hold your breath. Shame or embarrassment play no role whatsoever in their universe, which links Rotterdam street humor to fantastic and often poetic stage images. That marriage between what is called high and low culture gives the work of these friends a special character.”

Timeless

entertainment">In recent years, the duo has made two more programs after more than twenty years of absence from the stage. In 2017 they created an anniversary performance together with the actresses from Toren C especially for the 100th anniversary of the Luxor Theater, followed in 2020 by a show with the highlights from their oeuvre. The latter in particular was and is (because it can be seen exclusively in Rotterdam’s Nieuwe Luxor Theater until 28 October) a resounding success. “Our programs turn out to be timeless, which is quite crazy. We are totally surprised, and think it is a top price. We are really honored to receive this award,” said Wilfried.

entertainment">On Monday, October 25, the award will be festively and officially awarded to the duo in an ‘online’ connection during cabaret festival PEPER in Diligentia in The Hague, where the annual cabaret prizes (Poelifinario and Neerlands Hoop) will be awarded the same evening. In the past, the VSCD Oeuvre Prize was awarded to Guus Hermus (1988), Alexandra Radius & Han Ebbelaar (1989), Peter Oosthoek (1993), Ton Lutz (1995), Dora van der Groen (1997), Jirí Kylián (2002), Rudi van Dantzig (2003), Hans Croiset (2004), Gustav Leonhardt (2006), Frans Brüggen (2007), Freek de Jonge (2008), Erik Vos (2010), Joop van den Ende (2011), Youp van ‘t Hek (2016), Hans van Manen (2017), Liesbeth Colthof (2018) and Ivo van Hove (2019)

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