JAN VAN DE STOOL IN

PARTING THE RED CURTAINS

Come inside a legend and journey through her Netherlands

ABOUT THE SHOW

Join Musical Therapist, Jan van de Stool, and her extensive ego, as she reflects on her life in the ‘business of show’. From humble beginnings in Schiermonnikoog (an unpronounceable village in Holland), to being seen by over one million viewers, Jan keeps it real presenting self-help workshops at her local Scout Hall, where she’s helped, literally, tens of people.

Never one to “rest on her wattles”, Jan recently added ‘psychic medium’ to her list of faux credentials. Humbly explaining, that in psychic circles, she’s known as a “medium rare”, things go horribly wrong when she mistakenly channels her own disgruntled (and dead) ex-student, who, once unleashed, is determined to get her money’s worth of the workshop Jan refused to refund.

Jan’s perfect-looking life on “Spacebook” and “MyFace” begins to unravel, (along with her grip on the English language), and the real story of her life unfolds.

CREATIVE CREDITS

Writers
Queenie van de Zandt & Peter J. Casey

Starring
Queenie van de Zandt

Director
Darren Gilshenan

Musical Director, Sound Design, AV Design & Pre-Recorded Musical Accompaniment
Peter J. Casey

Creator of Jan’s Finale Costume
Tim Chappel

Producers
Amazon Woman Enterprises & Dowling Street Productions

FLEXIBLE RUNNING TIME:
40 or 60 minutes

AUDIENCE ADVICE:
Some strong language | Ages 12+

CONTACT
John Glenn
Hey Dowling
john@heydowling.com.au
+61 (0)416 144 179

This show is available for touring.

ORIGINAL CREATIVE TEAM
Jan van de Stool in Parting the Red Curtains originally premiered at The Woodford Folk Festival on 28 December 2017.
A production by Amazon Woman Enterprises
Starring Queenie van de Zandt
Writers Queenie van de Zandt & Peter J. Casey
Musical Director, Sound Design & Pre-Recorded Musical Accompaniment Peter J. Casey
Creator of Jan’s Finale Costume Tim Chappel
Key Art Design Jeff van de Zandt (Workshop Creative)
Design Roll Out & Marketing Kai Mann Robertson

  • “...a delight for anybody who’s enjoyed her schtick over the years and an enjoyably perverse musical tale for anybody new to Jan’s world... Jan is a beautifully observed comic creation who feels on par with Kath and Kim or Norman Gunston... van de Zandt is a spectacularly good singer... van de Zandt entirely transforms into van de Stool...it’s when van de Stool then transforms into the deceased people she’s channelling as a psychic medium that this show really starts to soar...an impressive showcase for van de Zandt’s chameleon-like talents as a performer... the way van de Zandt has built Jan’s world is irresistible. It’s utterly, bizarrely brilliant.”

    Time Out Sydney

  • “... van de Stool is a brilliant creation who rivals Barry Humphries’ Edna Everage in her ability to convince her audience that she really is who she purports to be...The laughs commence early... brilliantly subversive...hugely entertaining.”

    Australian Arts Review

  • “Talented actor/singer, Queenie van de Zandt, has hit the jackpot with her creation of Jan van de Stool...hilarious...very entertaining... Jan’s several costumes in the show are worth the price of admission alone...A genuinely delightful and openly bonkers night of entertainment”

    Canberra Critics Circle

  • “The show’s real strengths lie in van de Stool’s apparently spontaneous remarks, essentially extended stand-up comedy enhanced by occasional audience victimization... a particularly impressive aspect was the performance’s careful pacing; at no point was anything too much, too blatant, or too soon... What made it especially funny was the straight-faced innocence with which this warm, disarmingly motherly character delivered her bombshells... a great night’s entertainment, leaving you with a bellyful of laughs.”

    Stage Whispers

PAST PRODUCTIONS
Giant Dwarf, as part of the Sydney Comedy Festival | Brisbane City Hall, as part of the Brisbane Comedy Festival | Sunnybank Performing Arts & Cultural Centre (SunPaC), as part of the Brisbane Comedy Festival | Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre (The Q) | Woodford Folk Festival.