In conversation with: Riny van der Muuren

Riny van der Muuren, married to Ad (71), mother of three children, has worked in an administrative role for the police and as a swimming instructor, amongst other things, and is now retired.

What makes you happy in your spare time?
“Reading. And when the weather’s nice, I love getting out and about. I enjoy everything I do – playing tennis, going to the gym, and then having a coffee afterwards with whoever fancies it. And I love going to the theatre. Last season, I think I’d booked as many as 23 performances.”

What was your first or most memorable theatre experience?
“My parents always used to go to the theatre too. If there was something nice on, they’d go. We children didn’t go with them because it was in the evening. We were sometimes allowed to go to the cinema with them, though. I think my first visit to the theatre was when I was at school in Maastricht, at the theatre there. Back then, we had a cultural passport. It must have been a cabaret show.”

What sort of theatre-goer are you?
“We have a group with regular seats in row 3 and we see lots of shows every year. In recent years, there have been more musicals and fewer plays. There are lots of tribute bands, such as Dire Strats. I’m not really into musicals. We don’t go to dance shows either; I’m not actually sure why. We do go to cabaret, though, and musical theatre as well.”

When and with whom do you most enjoy going to the Schalm?
“We go with a whole group from the neighbourhood, but there’s also a friend from my old tennis days who comes along, and her sister-in-law, so the group keeps growing. Afterwards, we pop into D’n Burgemister for a drink. That’s all part of it. As soon as the programme booklet arrives, I’ll start looking through it and ask who wants to come along to which show.”

De Schalm aims to be a place that brings people together. How do you see that?
“That’s certainly true, because you always bump into people you know. Even if I went on my own, I’d still run into people I know. You see people who turn up at every performance, but sometimes you also see completely different people who come along.”

Do you ever meet new people at De Schalm?
“Because we’re a regular group, you soon start chatting with one another. But we do sometimes bump into people from the neighbourhood, and in the foyer you also have a chat with the people sitting next to you.”

If you were to put together a top 10 list for the coming season, what absolutely mustn’t be missing from it?
“We just go if we fancy something. And we regularly look for something new, because if you go a lot, it can all start to feel a bit repetitive. But cabaret artists from Brabant are definitely on the list.”