showbiz The show must go on. Five years after he last unleashed hischaracters on the public in ‘Allemaal Chris’, Chris Van den Durpel (62)returns to Flemish showbiz. As Kamiel Spiessens – the first character he evercame up with – he kicks off his theater tour today in Lokeren. “There are nowabout sixty performances on the agenda. I never expected my _little farmer_would still be so popular.”
He would initially bring ‘Spiessens Spijbelt’ in 2020, to celebrate 25 yearsof career. Corona decided otherwise, however, and postponed its premiere untiltonight. “Even after all these years, it’s still exciting to step on stage,”it sounds. “Fortunately, during the try-outs of ‘Spiessens Spijbelt’ (ahumorous show in which Chris’ character as an overyear climate truant giveshis vision on environmental problems, ed.) the response was positive: theguests laughed at the moment that this was foreseen, and afterwards I alwaysgot a lot of compliments. That being said, I have to admit that the show hasbeen tweaked here and there. There are always things that could be donebetter.”
According to Van den Durpel, there is no stress. “The figure of KamielSpiessens is ingrained in my DNA. As soon as I put on that wig, have my facepainted and have those clothes on… I’ll be him. Or to put it in his words: “It’s not hard, it’s easy!” (laughs)”
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“The interest is unbelievable”
Initially, Van den Durpel only wanted to perform about twenty shows, but inthe meantime the counter has already reached sixty dates. “The interest isunbelievable”, he says. “What has surprised me the most is the response fromyoung people. They know Kamiel from videos on TikTok, and would like to seehim ‘in real life’. In the meantime, several halls are sold out, and I willcertainly be busy until June 2023.”
His creator does not (yet) want to speak of a definitive return of KamielSpiessens – and other types. “That’s too premature”, it sounds. “First I haveto experience the physical impact this theater tour has on me. It is not theintention that I will be completely overwhelmed in a few months, or that Iwill no longer have a voice. To relieve some of the pressure, I will soon becalling on a driver for longer trips. I like to drive the car, but it has tobe safe.”
Tickets and info: kamielspiessens.be
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