Gert Verhulst on the ‘Red Star Line’: “Thousands of West Flemings also left Antwerp for America”

Successor to the hit production ’40-45′, ‘Red Star Line’ is off to a flying start with over 25,000 tickets sold in just a few days. This is very rewarding for Studio 100. After all, the public knows that Studio 100 represents a high-quality production, so they won’t wait to buy tickets.

‘Red Star Line’ is the perfect successor to the mega hit ’40-45′. It promises to be another emotional rollercoaster with a unique live experience. From Antwerp to New York, visitors are immersed in spectacular scenery that takes you on an unprecedented adventure on land and water. A strong production, but will the ‘Red Star Line’ story appeal to West Flemish audiences as well? “I think you’d be surprised how many West Flemish families left Antwerp for America at the turn of the century. We all know that people from West Flanders were enterprising, risk-takers. Many set up other businesses in America by boat from Antwerp. Many people from West Flanders will recognize themselves in that story. I think so,” says Gert Verhulst after the press briefing.

Should Studio 100 do a little extra advertising in our province? Isn’t the story around ’40-45′ or ‘Danes’ more popular than ‘Red Star Line’? Gert: “No! A lot of people will say: My uncle or aunt went to America at that time and built big, successful companies. I think it’s a typical West Flemish reality to be entrepreneurial, to be hardworking, to build a career there and to want to conquer the world.

What was the hardest part of making ‘Red Star Line’? Gert: “Hey, boat! Here we see part of the boat, but it is not yet finished. The boat will be even more magnificent than what you see now. But if you make music about the ‘Red Star Line’, people want to see the boat. Premiere only on March 19, 2023. We want to show people the finished boat. We are still working hard for that.” We learned that the first talks for this production started three years ago. What the next project will be, because Studio 100 thinks about the future in time. Gert: “Our focus was first on this ‘Red Star Line’ and we’ll see what comes next. We have a lot of ideas and we’re already brainstorming because time flies, but the focus is now mainly on this project. Will this production also attract hundreds of thousands of viewers?” Gert: “We believe so. ’40-45′ drew 750,000 viewers. ‘Danes’ got several hundreds of thousands, but is still busy. We want to match it, but it depends on how well people like this performance. We can only do what we can, but the public decides if they want to come and see and if they want to give a good answer. (PADI)

From March 23, 2023 at the Studio 100 pop-up theater in Puurs. Tickets and information: www.redstarline.nu