True story of a woman who chose her own path during a rocky time

'The Men of Mary' tells the true story of a woman who, in a rocky time, saw her potential, chose her own path and did what no woman before her had done. It is an exceptional historical account laced with themes that are relevant even in our time.

In 1625, eighteen-year-old Maria van Aelst is sent by her parents to "the East," present-day Indonesia. In Batavia, the hot, smelly colonial headquarters of the VOC, girls are needed. Neat Dutch girls to bear Dutch children. But instead of sighing under the wet heat, Maria acts, against all prohibitions, to ease the wait for a child. Four years later she is widowed and rich for the second time....

True story of a woman who chose her own path during a rocky time

'The Men of Mary' tells the true story of a woman who, in a rocky time, saw her potential, chose her own path and did what no woman before her had done. It is an exceptional historical account laced with themes that are relevant even in our time.

In 1625, eighteen-year-old Maria van Aelst is sent by her parents to "the East," present-day Indonesia. In Batavia, the hot, smelly colonial headquarters of the VOC, girls are needed. Neat Dutch girls to bear Dutch children. But instead of sighing under the wet heat, Maria acts, against all prohibitions, to ease the wait for a child. Four years later she is widowed and rich for the second time.

Actress Anna Drijver was very impressed by the book 'De mannen van Maria' by Anneloes Timmerije and asked the promising playwright Maxine Palit de Jongh to adapt the novel into a probing monologue. Olivier Diepenhorst is directing.

"Everyone knows Michiel de Ruyter and Jan Pieterszoon Coen, but we have no idea about the women of that era. The Men of Mary tells the crazy story of an independent woman in 'the East' in 1625." -Anna Drijver

www.theaterbureaudemannen.nl

including (break) drink