'' The Good Hope (''from

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

: ''Op Hoop van Zegen''; more literally: ''Hoping for the best)'' is a Dutch play written by

Herman Heijermans Herman Heijermans (3 December 1864 – 22 November 1924), was a Dutch writer. Heijermans was born in Rotterdam, into a liberal Jewish family, the fifth of the 11 children of Herman and Matilda (Moses) Spiers. Painter Marie Heijermans was his ...

in 1900/1901. It takes place in a fishing village, with the conflict between the

fishermen A fisher or fisherman is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishers may be professional or recreat ...

and their employer ending in

tragedy Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...

with the unsound boat setting out to sea and sinking with all hands and the owner pocketing the insurance money. It is still staged, and remains the most popular play by Dutch dramatist

. The socialist Heijermans is considered to have meant the play as a criticism of the entire

capitalist Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, priva ...

system, though some present-day productions downplay this radical approach. Op Hoop Van Zegen 20

It was translated in a new version for the

Royal National Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...

, which relocated the action to the Yorkshire fishing community of

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...

in 1900, by Lee Hall, writer of the award-winning ''

Billy Elliot ''Billy Elliot'' is a 2000 British coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Daldry and written by Lee Hall. Set in County Durham in North East England during the 1984–1985 miners' strike, the film is about a working-class boy wh ...

'' and ''

Spoonface Steinberg ''Spoonface Steinberg'' is a play by British playwright Lee Hall, first broadcast as a dramatic monologue on BBC Radio 4 on Monday 27 January 1997. Such was the popular acclaim that the BBC repeated it on Radio 4 the following Saturday afternoo ...

''. The voyage of ''The Good Hope'' is a journey on which the life of the entire community depends. A storm rages, the women and children wait ashore, the boat follows the Greenland catch. A Dutch classic of the social realist theatre. Its original Dutch title is ''Op Hoop Van Zegen''; it was translated into English and produced as early as 1903 and produced for the first time in England by the Stage Society on 26 April 1903. The very well known actress Miss

Ellen Terry Dame Alice Ellen Terry, (27 February 184721 July 1928), was a leading English actress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born into a family of actors, Terry began performing as a child, acting in Shakespeare plays in London, and tour ...

had it produced in all the leading towns of the English provinces and in the London suburbs in 1904 and 1905. On her American tour in 1906–07 the play was revived by her as it was later by The Pioneer Players on 3 November 1912. All this according to a letter of 10 May 1979 by Mrs. Anthony Thomas, curator of the Ellen Terry Memorial Museum,

Tenterden Tenterden is a town in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. It stands on the edge of the remnant forest the Weald, overlooking the valley of the River Rother. It was a member of the Cinque Ports Confederation. Its riverside today is not ...

, Kent. There are four films based on the play. The most recent was made in 1986, featuring

Danny de Munk Dennis "Danny" de Munk (born 19 February 1970 in Amsterdam) is a Dutch actor, singer, musical actor and former child star. Career De Munk started acting at the age of 13 as the leading role in the film Ciske de Rat (Ciske the Rat), directed by ...

as ''Barend''.

References

External links

*
"Playwright Heijermans against capitalism" - Review of the playimdb.comText of the play

1901 plays Dutch plays Socialism History of fishing Plays set in the Netherlands Plays set in the 1900s Dutch plays adapted into films 1900 plays {{1900s-play-stub

See also

References

External links