29-04-2025
From the archive: Dutch actor Louis Bouwmeester held us spellbound
From The Times: April 29, 1925
'Holland's greatest actor' was the title universally bestowed by his compatriots on the Dutch tragedian Mr Louis Bouwmeester, who has died at the age of 82.
As long ago as the Eighties of the nineteenth century, Bouwmeester's fame reached England as the first actor of the Dutch stage. He held the distinction, therefore, and held it undisputedly for more than forty years. Mr Bouwmeester's position in the forefront of Continental actors was recognized in France and Germany, and probably in America, some time before it was realized in England. 'Even his stick talks,' said a celebrated French critic, while leaders of the Paris stage hailed him as 'Master'.
Bouwmeester, indeed, occupied a place in a constellation of eminent players
