‘De Storm der Hartstogten Woedt’: The works of Johannes Jelgerhuis Rienkszoon as a source of stagecraft for the historically informed performer

Neuman, L.C. (2025)

Doctoral Thesis

This dissertation centres on historical performance practice and on the theatrical legacy of Johannes Jelgerhuis Rienkszoon (1770–1836). Through practice-based research, Laila Cathleen Neuman brings elements of Jelgerhuis's stagecraft, particularly those revealed in his unpublished works, to the attention of a wider public.

Jelgerhuis’s illustrated manuscripts, casting light on his creation of various roles and the use of imagination, complement the information drawn from his theoretical treatise Theoretische Lessen over de Gesticulatie en Mimiek (Theoretical Lessons on Gesticulation and Facial Expression), published between 1827 and 1829.

Building on this exploration, Neuman poses the following questions:

• How can a study of Jelgerhuis’s lesser-known works add to a more complete understanding of his treatise Theoretische Lessen over de Gesticulatie en Mimiek, and how can this in turn contribute to historically informed performance practices?
• How might training based on Jelgerhuis’s works enrich my own artistic practice?
• How this knowledge can be transformed into training materials that guide and inspire other performers today?

• HIP
• Acting techniques
• Nineteenth-century theatre
• Costume
• Proserpina
• Jelgerhuis
• Imagination
• Embodiment
• Attitudes
• Passions

• All authors: Neuman, L.C.
• Supervisor: Cobussen, M.A.
• Co-supervisor: Wentz, J.A.; Robinson, T.
• Committee: Jong, J.C. de; Fabris, D.; Burden, M.; Stern, T.
• Qualification: Doctor (dr.)
• Awarding Institution: Academy of Creative and Performing Arts (ACPA), Faculty of Humanities, Leiden University
• Date: 2025-12-05
• DOI: doi:10.60602/72mm-2a50