She is an actress, singer, writer and mother of two beautiful children. You may know Manoushka Zeegelaar Breeveld from the television series 'Grijpstra en de Gier' or the film 'Sonny Boy', where she plays the mother of main character Waldemar. From January 2012 she will be on stage, together with Lucretia van der Vloot, with the theatre show 'Ach, ze zien allemaal op elkaar'.
Manouska Manoushka Zeegelaar Breeveld
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She is an actress, singer, writer and mother of two beautiful children. You may know Manoushka Zeegelaar Breeveld from the television series 'Grijpstra en de Gier' or the film 'Sonny Boy', where she plays the mother of main character Waldemar. From January 2012 she will be on stage, together with Lucretia van der Vloot, with the theatre show 'Ach, ze verloren allemaal op elkaar', in which she shares all kinds of secrets and heart's desires with us. Here Manoushka gives a foretaste of her theatre show and tells us about her career, motherhood and of course about her beautiful black hair .
“'Ach, they all look the same' is an intimate theatre concert”, says Manoushka. “Lucretia and I sing old and new songs and tell stories that show the differences and similarities between us.” The show also addresses various prejudices about the women. “People always have a certain image of us. That does not always seem to match reality. For example, casting directors see us as two Surinamese women and we are always asked for the same roles. But how Surinamese is Lucretia, born and raised in Amsterdam, actually? And what makes me, raised in Paramaribo, more Surinamese than her? These are questions that come up in the show. We talk about our youth, our hair, our love for Amsterdam and Paramaribo and about our loved ones.” The show is therefore very personal. Everything that comes up is drawn from the experiences of the two friends. “It is truly a personal document of the two of us,” says Manoushka, “but these experiences are very recognizable to others. We are all, white or black, Dutch or Surinamese, much more alike than we think.”
A theatre concert of your own and working as an actress, writer and singer takes up a lot of your time and energy, and then Manoushka is also a mother. How does she do it? “When the children were younger, it was a huge hassle. But with the help of my father, sisters and friends, I always managed. It's much easier now. The children can manage just fine on their own now. They really enjoy coming to my concerts every now and then. But they still really enjoy it when a production is over. Then I'm just a mother at home again.”
Beauty is pain
Nowadays Manoushka wears her hair as it is; frizzy and loose. “I like that and it costs me so much less time and money”, she says. She is now showered, dressed, made up and ready to leave the house within half an hour. However, that has not always been the case. “I have straightened my hair for a very long time. Growing up in Suriname, you are always told that you have bad hair. Smooth and long, that is good hair. So that becomes your ideal of beauty. As a teenager, I was also very happy that my hair could be straightened. That did not make it good hair, but it came close. Until then, I had a bang and after that I have had every possible hairstyle that Whitney Houston and Hally Berry ever had.” Manoushka has not had very good experiences with relaxers. “Beauty is pain, I was always told. Relaxers were just something you had to endure, it was part of it. Until my mother straightened my hair with a Surinamese product. It almost burned my brains out and my hair came off in clumps. Wrong chemical composition, I think. I didn’t necessarily have to be beautiful anymore.”
Manoushka will not encounter that problem with her daughter. “My daughter has straight hair. My husband is half Dutch, half Surinamese and I am a nice mix. If you mix all that Chinese, Creole, Hindustani, Dutch and Jewish blood together, you apparently get a daughter with straight hair. She has a knack for it. I think it is beautiful. She thinks it is terrible. She would have preferred hair like mine.” 
Manoushka has great admiration for her parents, whom she also sees as great sources of inspiration. “They both inspire me in different ways. My mother is a strong woman who taught three daughters, with frizzy hair, to always be able to take care of themselves. My father is an inspiration when it comes to living life as it comes. You take setbacks that come and you keep going.”
Happy person
Manouska is therefore very satisfied with her life as it is now. “If I can continue doing what I am doing now and developing it, I will die a happy person, healthy and well. Long after I am eighty, I hope. Making theatre, film and music is my passion. But also passing it on.” Manoushka already does this passing on on a smaller scale, but it is still something that Manoushka would like to develop further in the future. “Last year I was in Suriname for workshops at the music school. I also teach every year at the Weekend School in Amsterdam. That is a school for children who want to learn extra things, from law to art and culture, and do that during the weekend. Great initiative and very inspiring to be able to participate in that.” This school ties in nicely with her favourite quote: 'Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world', by Nelson Mandela.
Manouskha finally has a nice message for women who are insecure about their frizzy hair and would rather hide it. “If you like it, you should definitely relax your hair and use extensions. For the sake of variety, it is also nice that all those products are available. You want to try something different. But don't do it because you think you have 'bad hair'. We have beautiful and very good hair! Strong, resistant to a blow and you can always make something creative out of it.”
Watch the playlist of 'Oh, they all look the same' with Lucretia van der Vloot and Manoushka Zeegelaar Breeveld here.
| February 11 | Capelle a/d IJssel | Isala Theatre | 8:30 p.m. |
| February 20 | Amsterdam | The Little Comedy | 8:15 p.m. |
| February 22 | Main village | The Old Town Hall | 8:30 p.m. |