Cas Enklaar passes away

This article was last updated on July 22, 2022

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Cas Enklaar an actor and theatrical director, died at the age of 79

Amsterdam-born actor Cas Enklaar died on Wednesday at the age of 79. When the famed Werktheater (without h) was founded in 1970, he was a founding member along with Peter Faber, Shireen Strooker, and Jan Joris Lamers, as well as other members of the group.

For years, the company was known for their groundbreaking performances about everyday people, which were staged without a director and performed in a variety of locations such as nursing homes, hospitals, schools, and daycare centres. There was much debate about death, aging, and psychiatry.After the show, the actors would often mingle with the crowd and answer questions.

A solo performance by American actress Joan Crawford, “An Evening with Joan,” made Enklaar a household name as well (1983). He was an important part of the Werktheater’s supporting cast for a long time and stayed that way until his death in 1985.

In the following years, he worked for several different companies until deciding to become a freelancer. As a member of both tiny experimental ensembles and open-to-the-public shows, he has performed in a wide range of settings. Other television appearances include Loenatik, Pleidooi, and Koefnoen.

In addition, filmmaker Theo van Gogh frequently used Cas Enklaar in his films. A Day at the Beach (1984), a film based on the book by Heere Heeresma, was his first major role, followed by Loos (1989), Back to Oegstgeest (1987), and Vals Licht (1993). After Van Gogh’s assassination in January 2005, he appeared in the series Medea by Van Gogh and Theodor Holman.

He is included in all of Dick Maas’ Flodder (1996), Esmée Lammers’ Golden Calf-winning Long Live the Queen (1996), and comedian Hans Teeuwen’s directorial debut Masterclass (2005).

Cas Enklaar’s final part was in Samuel Beckett’s Endgame, a masterpiece of absurdist theatre, in 2019. Enklaar was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in the spring of last year, and he was unable to participate in the performance. Gerardjan Rijnders was hired as his replacement.