Mother I want to join the Caberet

During the second half of the 1950s, small green shoots of prosperity gradually start to break through in the Netherlands – but not for Bob, his father Jacob and four sisters. As the son of the village coalman, Bob is destined to take over his father’s business: an unpromising one, as more and more people start to switch over to oil.

When Bob’s cousin Arnold invites him to see a show in town, he is immediately smitten. Not only by the glitter and glamour of the revue, but also by Jeanne – a young woman whose father owns a shop selling modern domestic appliances. Bob moves to town and gets a job as a stagehand in the theatre, where he is able to watch John van Houten’s revue every day. Then he takes singing lessons and gets his first small part with Hagendoorn’s company…