THEATRE Theatre |Fashion| Music
		Galleryplay’s starting point is really very simple. The performance is about the visual artist Cees Krijnen (1969) from Haarlem, who plays himself in Galleryplay (whether or not in an exaggerated manner). After winning the Prix de Rome in 1999, Cees Krijnen mostly occupied himself with portray, as well as emancipating his divorced mother’s life, Greta Blok, who also plays herself in this show (whether or not in an exaggerated manner). Krijnen had exhibitions in Milan, Paris, London, New York, Tirana, Berlin and became particularly well known in Haarlem as a result of his exhibition in "De Hallen" last winter. Krijnen is what is commonly referred to as a modern artist, or entrepreneur; networking, telephony and emails have long since overtaken the paint brush and palette. Galleryplay is a comedy about the skills required to hold your own in the art world. The main expression of style is achieved through exaltation, right to the point where you feel sick to the pit of your stomach. The performance starts at a point in time where Krijnen has just returned from London, where he very successfully (according to leading magazines like Time-Out, Contemporary and Frieze) presented his six part Galleryplay-Cock-Block dildo set and where he is expecting the arrival of the art collector Hans Kemna (again whether or not in an exaggerated manner), who also plays himself. Willem de Wolf (from the Kas & de Wolf duo) wrote the text, in agreement with all involved, and is the only one to play an actual role, namely that of a friend and assistant to Krijnen (again whether or not in an exaggerated manner). set design : cees krijnen advice : gerardjan rijnders play : greta blok, cees krijnen, hans kemna, willem de wolf bodydouble : adel rootstein, london costumes : dirk schönberger, antwerpen fragrance femme divorcée II : françoise caron, quest international, paris photography : uscha pohl/upandco, new york & london graphics : jerry van der eem production : kadewe en toneelschuur producties producer : toneelschuur producties toneelschuur.nl Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire 19-21 October 2007 Beacon Art Project "The highlight of Saturdays performance’s surly goes to Cees Krijnen and Greta Blok’s powerful autobiographical performance, pumped full of both drama and adrenalin whilst looked upon by a healthy crowd of an odd mix of flabbergasted residents and submerged ‘arty types.’ This made the hairs on my arms stand on end, (or maybe that was just the sea breeze). Krijnen’s performance and much of his practice of the past seven years evolves around his mothers bitter divorce battle with her husband, his farther1. The performance, starting fittingly within the Dunes Family Entertainment Centre provided the perfect ‘venue’ for this grand finale.  We watch Krijnen slowly losing his temper with his interrupting arrogant farther played by fellow artist Julian Maynard Smith, until he decides to take action and leaves the building enticing the audience and his mother (who was busy indulging herself in fudge won at last nights talent party open event) Into the dunes car park. An Unaware but curious audience took some persuasion  to vacate the warm inside where Krijnen and his mother were happily spending time upon children’s rides, To the second concluding part of the performance where Krijnen and his mother vented his anger via directing a JCB digger to smash into a builders skip, in which inhabited his farther. The audience almost acting as jury as Krijnen prosecuted his farther via a deluge of skip bashing, in retaliation to his fathers actions of the past years.   Inevitably but not surprisingly the end of the performance became a performance within itself. The JCB’s engine was turned off, leaving a eerie silence punctured only by splattering of claps and the odd donkey cry, and like a school fight between students at school been halted by a teacher, the Beacon crowd scarped back into Mablethorpe’s sleepy surroundings like naughty school children, denying they knew anything of the ‘happening.’ With the scratched car park surface as it’s only signification of its existence." Quote: Alan Armstrong  a-n.co.uk Performance: Cees Krijnen, Greta Blok, Julian Maynard Smith & super-stuntwoman Sheffield. Camera & Video-editing: Sally O'Reilly