From the war in Ukraine to the World Cup and the nitrogen crisis: 2022 once again offered plenty of inspiration for comedians. Claudia de Breij, Guido Weijers and Dolf Jansen are on stage with their New Year’s conference. What do critics think of their performance? NU.nl lists the most important reviews.
Claudia de Breij – on NPO1 at 22.20
Volkskrant is wildly excited about De Breij’s third New Year’s conference. “From the opening, where she grasps the political year solidly and with many jokes, the 2022 edition is compelling and perfectly balanced with seriousness, empathy, emotion, perspective and many atmospheric comparisons.”
Fidelity describing De Breij’s performance as “connected, sharp and cynical”. “The role of liaison minister, which is part of the tradition of the New Year’s conference, suits Claudia de Breij like no other. De Breij likes to talk a little too much. The entertainment news is especially overrepresented with Glennis Grace, Lil Kleine, Matthijs van Nieuwkerk and Johan Derksen. It could have been a little less.”
This performance deserves your full attention. So it is recommended to look back the next day in peace.
That Theater magazine is a little more critical. “It must be the age and the concerns of her children, both very understandable, but Claudia de Breij’s seriousness sometimes gets in the way of the humor. The balance between learning and entertainment is somewhat disturbed.”
The telegraph writes of a “strong, substantive production”. “Perhaps just a little less suitable for a cozy New Year’s Eve with friends, oil balls and champagne on TV. This performance deserves full attention. So it is recommended to watch it again the next day in peace.”
That A.D says that De Breij “reflects extensively on the scandals surrounding The voice and DWDD“. “No light food – but unavoidable in a review of this year. Fortunately, De Breij also puts things into perspective, for example when she states: ‘Just because all bastards are men doesn’t mean all men are bastards.’
Guido Weijers – on RTL 4 at 8 p.m
In an interview with Fidelity tells Weijers that he wants to get back to basics. “This year it will be no-frills stand-up: one man, one microphone, and then make jokes that capture the spirit of the times. So no technical situations with a projection screen, a PowerPoint or a fancy background. I leave all that. fuss out. I hear from theater directors that they really appreciate it and that there really is a different person on stage than fifteen years ago. I can feel it myself.”
Volkskrant is critical of some parts of the performance. “Sometimes Weijers gets preachy and kicks in a few open doors. Other times the jokes are just too flat, like the celebrities who skated crookedly in 2022 or fell into disgrace. But due to some effectively recurring stories, is the eleventh New Year’s Eve by Guido Weijers is well put together, with a chilling message from ‘Iceman’ Wim Hof, a salute to music great Henny Vrienten and a moral that is pro-nature and pro-animal welfare.”
“Weijers’ New Year’s Eve show has a higher joke density than De Breij,” writes The telegraph. “But not all jokes are equally strong, and sometimes Weijers lays his ‘preachiness’ on just a little too thick. His account of the increasingly shorter trips he took with a terminally ill friend, on the other hand, seems to come straight from his heart.”
Dolf Jansen – on performancegemist.tv
Jansen’s New Year’s conference has been received positively by various reviewers. “The term ‘activist comedy’, which he himself uses, covers the load,” writes de Volkskrant. “IN Flash delivery Jansen is nicely spoken as always, traditionally sometimes also terribly bland. “I don’t have a lower limit tonight,” he says, bringing up all sorts of variations of Tinder.
“Via the American seizure of abortion rights, he moves on to Johan Derksen, to a speech about ‘terrible men’ and their transgressive behavior. In Utrecht, he gets his hands together, especially when there follows a serious appeal to all non-terrified men, who do not have something to fear from a changed time.”
“It is easy to blame Dolf Jansen for always saying and preaching the same thing to his own parish,” writes Fidelity. “That’s what we do Flash delivery however lack. Jansen looks fresh and energetic. His pace remains impressively high. It’s just a shame that he finds it necessary to patronize theater audiences in the ‘province’. The residents of Veghel and Emmen did not deserve that.’
Dolf Jansen jumps smoothly through the year, when the gifts are presented to the cabaret artist on a plate.
In the show, Jansen talks about his wife’s divorce, among other things. “It’s a strong piece,” it writes A.D. “But just as often, Jansen forgets to wrap up his dish a little nicely. He explains how the position of women has changed and comes to a predictable conclusion via Johan Derksen’s candle incident: The development of the opposite sex scares some men.”
That Theater magazine is a little more positive towards the comedian. “Jansen jumps smoothly through the year, when the gifts are handed to the cabaret artist on a plate: Willem Engel, who after a few days in prison for rebellion, compares himself to Nelson Mandela; the Jumbo supermarket, which, like other supermarkets, has systematically cut off the farmers and claims not having anything to do with the farmers’ nitrogen problem; the retail company Blokker also does lightning deliveries and therefore assumes that someone really needs a colander within a quarter of an hour.”
“As we are used to from Jansen, after his serious story dipped in humor, he still has a hopeful thought. He believes that the right-thinking person need not allow himself to be led to the destruction of life on earth. so much evidence to the contrary believes still itself, is the question.”