Bocholtz presents the Romans and the discovery of their history

Het wordt een bijzonder schouwspel eind augustus in Bocholtz: De Romeinen en de ontdekkers van hun lokale geschiedenis zijn levend en sprekend terug, exact op de locaties van toen.

It will be a remarkable spectacle at the end of August in Bocholtz: the Romans and the discoverers of their local history return alive and speaking, exactly on the locations of the past.

The archaeo-festival Sempervivetum, from Friday 26 to Sunday 28 August 2022, makes this possible thanks to the efforts of 25 actors and actresses. They perform in and around Vlengendaal at various locations, presenting nine different scenes. In roughly 8 to 9 minutes, one of the many stories that make up the Roman history of Bocholtz is brought to life in an entertaining way. Visitors walk from scene to scene, accompanied by a narrator who explains the miniature plays.

Rehearsals started in early July under the direction of director Roger Lataster. Most of the actors and actresses were recruited from theatre associations in the region. They bring plenty of experience, but a number of “Romans” will make their stage debut at the end of August. A remarkable detail is the multilingual nature of the texts. Some of the actors speak “Ripuarian” during the performances, the Rhineland dialect still spoken in the far southeast of Limburg as well as in Germany up to Cologne and in eastern Belgium. The origin of this language lies with the Franks, who took over from the Romans in Western Europe. Choosing Ripuarian is therefore historically justified. And that applies to the entire festival. Roger Lataster: “As a director, I am bound to historical truth. So I look together with the actors for a balance between entertaining and informing.”

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