During a Skype meet with Henry Alles, performer/director from Dutch rural arts organisation Peer Group, a conclusion was reached that a visit was in order to understand their specific way of working.  This would make easier the organising of Henry’s trip in October to Rhayader for a phase of R&D. 

So I braced myself for a train, coach, plane, train, car travel combo and set off on my travels at 4am Tuesday morning, arriving at the serene but oddly fortified residence of Peer Group at 2pm Dutch time.

On entering I had many introductions with various company and cast members who were welcoming and interested in my visit.  I also got acquainted very briefly (out of personal choice) with the pigs (7 babies) and their mum, whose stories and purpose I later learnt more about. 

I had some light lunch, was shown my living quarters and explained the ground rules particularly regarding the outdoor toilet.  I was invited to observe rehearsals for their upcoming show, a comic, surreal musical theatre piece ‘De Drentse Bluesopera’ premiering at the end of July a few fields further on from Peer Group headquarters.   Without haste I took up the invitation and found to my amusement and slight bewilderment travelling in a cart pulled by a tractor.  I sat and observed and tried to decipher the table tennis conversations between cast, director, musical director and all others who were there, I looked around and realised how natural yet man made the land looked.

I was then taken on a grand tour around the whole site.  The space consisted of 10-15 warehouse buildings.  However Peer Group used/ rented only 5 of these.  One had been converted into a rehearsal space, another was their storage, another acted as their meeting room, green room and office space, one was used as their set and costume workshop and finally another was currently empty.  They also had a number of shipping containers, each with a different purpose- one was used as a mobile artist residency space, another was used in a previous performance.

I then spent some time with the Artistic Director and founder Sjoerd, getting in depth knowledge of the history, breadth and purpose of the work that Peer Group create.  The process for them is far more interesting and valuable then product.  It was during this chat where I learnt more about the pigs and their purpose and the fortification and the reasons behind it. 

So first let me elaborate on the pig story.  Although now extinct there was once a northern Dutch pig which was consumed and reared in this part of the world.  Peer Group were keen to find pigs which were similar to that breed, ending up with some Germanic pigs which were brought over to their compound and reared.  Recently one of the pigs gave birth to 7 piglets, which in coming months will be given to villages/ local communities.  These particular communities will take the responsibility to raise and look after the pig.  It will then be up to the community what to do wiht the pig.  If they want a community meal with ham, pork and veal as part of the menu then so be it, if they would prefer to carry on caring and looking after the pig then that is also fine.

With regards to the fortification of the compound, it served as an ammunition storage space.  During the Cold War, the Dutch like many European countries worried that the Russians may try to invade.  Therefore secret storage compounds were built across the country in rural areas to enable easy access to weapons if and when required.  However the Russians didn’t invade and these compounds outlived their purpose, becoming vast empty spaces with barbed wire fencing around them.  Dutch companies and individuals now use these spaces in a variety of different ways and Peer Group rents this particular space as a permanent residence for the company.   

The following day I headed over to the village where Henry Alles was putting on the ‘Roundtable’ project.  We arrived in a somewhat affluent and quaint looking village where most people seemed to have small speedboats or mini yachts marooned in the river running behind their back verandas.

We arrived at the farm where the project was taking place and in the distance I saw the Roundtable sitting on the only hill in an otherwise flat landscape.  After a brief chat with Henry, I let him carry on preparing himself for the mini performance in the afternoon.  This was a tea party rather than the full-blown dinner party which takes place during the evening version of the show. 

The format of the show is as follows. The audience are met in a particular part of town by Henry in character as Henry and then taken on a boat which docks close to the farm.  Henry then leads them to the field singing and performing quite informally the history of food along the journey.  The afternoon performance culminates with a garden tea party.  Followed by a video of a pig slaughter, which I, unlike many audience members, found very interesting.

The evening performance takes the audience on a similar journey, however, the evening finishes off with a massive 9-course meal rather than a tea party and they are brought over in a bus.  It also sees Henry playing alongside another performer.

The experience was quite interesting as the performance was fairly informal and felt more like a dinner party being hosted rather then two performers putting on a show.  The evening consisted of performance, food, music and inevitably rain, however the up side being the rainbow which converged.

On my final day with Peer Group I took my leave having discussed and agreed all logistics for Henry’s R&D visit to Rhayader.  I headed towards Amsterdam with the hope of catching some of the Holland festival.

Through various contacts and some luck I had managed to get a cut price ticket for ‘Fela’ @ Theatre Carrie.  The show was absolutely amazing as it invoked a range of emotions and educated me about Afrobeat.  Once the show was over the party continued with audience invited onto the stage to rejoice and celebrate the life of ‘Fela Kuti’ by singing, dancing and watching his son Femi give a special personal tribute performance for his dad. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juoU_3eXCcY