De verbouwing

Futile tinkering

Ylka and Thomas are having their house renovated. Two renovators have been at work for months, but the plans keep changing. How far should that wall extend? Should Ylka be able to see Thomas when she comes down the stairs? Who decided where to place that door? So why isn’t it where it should be? More and more cracks appear in the cooperation between the boss Ben and his helper Mike, but especially between Ylka and Thomas, who are in the middle of a midlife crisis. Things go really wrong when Thomas wants the door put back in its original position. The renovation becomes a metaphor for all the futile tinkering on a marriage that isn’t working.

De verbouwing (1998) is a play by the Dutch theatre group Carver. The name refers to the American writer Raymond Carver (1938-1988), the master of dirty realism. The dialogues in De verbouwing are very powerful: they seem harmless but are full of innuendo, hidden accusations and cunning revenge. Exposed nerves! De verbouwing is a sublime blend of humour and sadness.