Let me introduce you, this is Rein. Rein is an actor and has a voice so nice that you would wish he would narrate audiobooks. Rein, are you joining us? Do you also narrate audiobooks sometimes? Anyone who wants to hear the voice in real life (and you do) should hurry to the Parade in Amsterdam this weekend, because he will be there to admire. Rein, take it away.

First of all, how was your week?

“My week was nice. I am working on a pilot commissioned by the NTR and it is almost finished, we are now in the editing phase. It feels really good, now we just have to wait and see what they think of it, but I have high hopes.”

And this weekend you will be at the Parade...

“Yes, that's right, from tonight until Monday night. The show is called “To be or not to be? (That is the question)” and I am making it together with Ernst Daniel Smid, Coosje Smid, and Leonoor Koster. We are celebrating the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death and organizing a surprise party for him, and he knows nothing about it and we want to keep it that way. He will be there, but he is lured there under false pretenses. So it is an operetta, very light-hearted with a lot of humor. When people think of Shakespeare, they often think it is all heavy, but it really isn't. We are in the Traveling Theater, the largest tent of the entire Parade, which can accommodate 400 people.”

That sounds amazing! Have you performed this show before?

“Yes, we also performed it in the other Parade cities, although we were in a different tent then. The Hague and Utrecht were perhaps the most fun. We were well-rehearsed, the weather was nice, and the people were excited.‘

What is so fun about the Parade?

“I think it is the sense of community. That you all create the festival together, the circus feeling, that captures it better. There is also a lot of contact between the actors, how they attract their visitors and how the show went, that kind of thing. You do it together and that makes it so enjoyable. And for the visitors? It is really so cozy, very friendly. If you think you don't really like theater, this is a very good way to get in touch with it. The show lasts only half an hour, so it is very manageable. There are also many people who come just for a drink, it is all so fun and cheerful and the ideal place to enjoy a drink.”

And aside from the Parade, when does your weekend usually start?

“I don't really have a typical weekly schedule, of course. When I am on tour, my weekend can also be on a Monday, so I don't really know that Friday afternoon feeling. But my friends do, so on Friday and Saturday I know we will do fun things. An ideal day off for me is to go to the terrace or the beach with friends.”

If practical matters like time and money didn't exist, what would your dream weekend be?

“Then I would like to have breakfast in Paris, the classic romantic delicious breakfast. After that, of course, go to New York for a day of wandering around and sightseeing. I would have dinner at Lake Como in Italy. There is a small square where I once ate in a small place, and I want to go there. I am currently forgetting the name. And then have a long dinner, with my friends, enjoying the night. For the night, we fly to Singapore to sleep in that hotel with the infinity pool overlooking the city, the Marina Bay Sands hotel, yes. And before we go to sleep, we would definitely swim first.”

Famous last words?

“See you at the Parade?”