Jorine van Beek

De Goede Mens van Sezuan

Direction: Arie de Mol
Theatre Company: Toneelgroep Maastricht
Premiere: November 1st 2013

© Ben van Duin
© Ben van Duin
© Ben van Duin
© Ben van Duin
© Ben van Duin
© Ben van Duin

Three gods descend to earth to see if there are enough good people alive. They end up in Sezuan, a city where life is hard. Nobody seems willing to give the Gods shelter, only the whore Shen Te. The gods reward her with a large sum of money and give her an assignment: "take good care of yourself and be good to others". Shen Te buys a tobacco shop.

She immediately gets attacked by her friends and neighbors who love to enjoy her wealth. Shen Te wants to be helpful and hospitable, but cannot say no and gets more and more into financial trouble. It turns out to be impossible to fulfill the mission of the gods. Then her cousin Shui Ta turns up, a young businessman who makes short work of all the profiteers.

This treacherous fairy tale shows in an engaging, but at the same time disconcerting way how difficult it is to 'do the good' in a world that demands survival.