A discarded donkey playing the accordion, a hoarse rooster with a violin, an old dog playing the saxophone and a cat playing drums. Four animals together form a motley crew. In their eyes, the animals are too old or no longer fit to do their jobs.Full of energy, they throw themselves into a musical adventure.
After the highly successful Reinaert de V. production, Holland Opera and the Duda Paiva Company are collaborating again. The libretto is once again by two-time Golden Griffel winner Simon van der Geest. This time the music will be composed by Lucas Wiegerink. The director is Pim Veulings.
The factory bosses run tight-lipped. But they are shocked by the results: The donkey (accordion) is too old, the new technology is too complicated for him. He will be written off. But the donkey has heard everything, and as soon as they try to catch him, he breaks out and flees into the wide world.
In a tiny, fenced field sits a dog (saxophone). A boss tries to teach him to count. But he is too wild and can’t sit still, and he keeps getting punished. The donkey convinces him that a free life as a street musician suits him better.
In the street, they find a hen/ rooster (fiddle) that has been beaten up. Two bosses from the laying battalion tell them that the hen worked for them but refused to lay eggs; she claims not to be a hen. ‘Very well; if you are not a hen, then you are a rooster, and you must cackle, for the wake service.’ But this animal doesn’t feel like a rooster either. The hen rooster does not want to lay or coo, but would much rather dance.
The donkey and the dog help the rooster up and take them away. When they also encounter a cat with war trauma, the quartet is complete.
They move on but struggle with each other’s quirks: the donkey is too slow, the dog shoots in all directions and the rooster is stubborn. When the thunderstorm breaks out, the cat cringes and dares not go any further. The others sigh, but help her through and they reconcile. They decide to start a band: the Bremer Buitenbeentjesband.
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