Mining region's past revived
Ten Towers Deep takes you back to the mining region in 1958. This touching, funny and exciting family show is about the unconditional friendship between twelve-year-old Stef and Victor. From an early age Stef knows that he wants to become a miner later on - just like his father and brother.
Secret Koelpietenclub
Victor, Stef's best friend, also wants to become a miner. Despite the fact that his father crashed in the mine. In kindergarten, the two friends have already formed a "Secret Coolie Club. Now their friend Wietske also wants to join the club. To do so, she must first take a "test," but it gets out of hand. All kinds of dramatic events cause the story to accelerate and the friendship of the three children comes under pressure.
Togetherness
Ten Towers Deep tells a wonderful story for children aged 9 and up, but also for their (grand-)parents and everyone who feels involved in the mining past. Because it is not only about Stef, Victor and Wietske. It is also about daily life in a miner's neighborhood at the end of the fifties. Love and sorrow are shared; there are grumbles about the power of the mine management and the priest. But there is also pride in the tough job of coolie and the underground solidarity of the cowpunchers.
Special Heritage
Jacques Vriens is one of our country's best-known children's book authors. He wrote War Secrets, and Eighth-graders Don't Cry, among others. Twenty-six years ago, Jacques came to live in southern Limburg. He knew the mines had been cleared, but it was only then that he realized it had happened so radically. He struck up conversations with former miners and heard both beautiful and sad stories. He wondered what daily life was like in the mining colony and what it was like to grow up there as a child. To do so, he interviewed former miners, their wives and children. They provided the inspiration for Ten Towers Deep, which Jacques adapted for the theater especially for this performance. The performance features 30 actors from former mining neighborhoods in Heerlen-North. You can't get any closer to the heritage.
The family show Ten Towers Deep will be performed at Theater Heerlen on Friday, Oct. 17, Saturday, Oct. 18 and Sunday, Oct. 19. Tickets can be purchased at the box office or through the theater's website.