Hamelen (TV series)

Hamelen
Genre	Children's Programming
Country of origin	Netherlands
Original language	Dutch
No. of episodes	45

Kunt u mij de weg naar Hamelen vertellen, mijnheer ? (Do you know the way to Hamelin, Sir ?) is a Dutch children's television series from the 1970s. It was broadcast by KRO and became an instant success.

Overview

Based on the fairy tale "The Pied Piper of Hamelin", it tells what happened with the children after they disappeared from this German town.

When the ratcatcher solves the rat problem in the town of Hamelin but then disappears with all the children of the town, the alternate reality they find themselves in is an Alice in Wonderland-like adventure with flying pumpkins and carpets, mud fighting princes, dwarfs and witches, a love elixir, Wensela's melting ice palace and a lot more. The show featured over 120 songs.

Episodes

45 episodes were taped between 1972 and 1976; only the last six survived on tape besides a few compilations of the first episodes since after broadcasting they erased the tapes to be re-used. Fortunately a significant part of the erased material has been preserved by video recording, though in inferior quality.

Cast

• Ida Bons
• Loeki Knol
• Rob de Nijs; Bertram Bierenbroodspot
• Martin Brozius; Aernout Koffij
• Mimi Kok

Reunions

In late 1989 KRO reran the final 6 episodes and footage from a 1976 one-off concert. Many of the actors reunited for a television appearance dressed in the same costumes. Another reunion followed eight years later; this time some of the child actors were involved.

Musical

A musical version premièred on 13 October 2003 in Tilburg. Loeki Knol was the only original cast member involved, playing Lidwina Walg. The show also featured Chantal Janzen and Kim-Lian.

External links

• KindertTV website (in Dutch) contains much information about the series.