From a visit by Death to an everyman and slapstick in a tent to piano-playing brothers and white sails in the sunset, here’s our pick of the week’s best things to do.

Cheer on the sailors

The Kaag Week offers races for one, two and three-man boats in classes ranging from Falcon and Rainbow to Laser and Solo. The main attraction is the team events pitting Holland against Friesland in the Rainbow. The whole fleet of participating boats sails into harbour on the evening of July 16.

Harboud, Warmond. July 16 to 19. www.kwvdekaag.nl

Check out past and future
An exhibition looking back to the February Revolution of 1848 and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and forward to where we go from here with the world needing a new mentality and a different perspective. The exhibition takes you through modern culture and shows that art and design touch every facet of life. There is new and old work by artists such as Constant, Francesco Garcia Dory, Renzo Martens, Wendelien von Oldenborgh, Alexandra Pirici & Manuel Pelmus and Li Mu.

Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven until February 22 2015. www.vanabbemuseum.nl

See a film
Discussing the plot of The One I Love will give away much of the fun, so suffice it to say this assured debut from Charlie McDowell is a weird combination of sci-fi and marriage breakdown.

The marriage in crisis is that of Ethan (Mark Duplass) and Sophie (Elisabeth Moss of Mad Men fame), who are struggling to work through Ethan’s cheating. Their therapist (Ted Danson) suggests they go on a ‘retreat’ for the weekend. So it is that Ethan and Sophie find themselves in a big old house on a large property, complete with pool and guest house – although there are no other guests.

They find themselves in an increasingly disturbing hall of mirrors, during which screenwriter Justin Lader references all manner of film conventions, while the chemistry between Duplass and Moss keeps things afloat.

Highly entertaining and efficient at 91 minutes, The One I Love has some amusing things to say about the human condition.

Laugh at yourself
Boom Chicago is celebrating 21 years of improvisation with 21 Years of Mockery. The programme is a mix of their comedians favourite improvs and scenes making fun of Dutch people, Americans and just about everything else. You shout out a subject and they will mock it.

Boom Chicago, Amsterdam all this week. www.boomchicago.nl

Smell the flowers

A short opera followed by drinks in the lovely gardens of Museum van Loon in Amsterdam is an annual event. This year’s opera is The Apple Tree, written by Mark Twain and set to music by Jerry Bock of Fiddler on the Roof fame. It’s the story of Adam and Eve from Eve’s viewpoint, full of sarcastic humour and subtle remarks about the weaknesses of men. It is sung by Jan Willem Baljet (baritone, Adam), Esther Kuiper (mezzo-soprano, Eve) and Willem de Vries (baritone, God, devil, snake). They are accompanied by Jeroen Sarphati at the piano.

Museum van Loon, Amsterdam, August 19 to 23. www.grachtenfestival.nl

Watch a great actor at work
Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave) stars in this modern-day and theatrically lavish reworking of the 15th century morality play, Everyman, in which the title character lives a charmed life until Death comes calling and he realises he is on his own. The director is Rufus Norris, newly-appointed director of the National Theatre.

The play is broadcast live from the National Theatre in London.

Pathé cinemas, Amsterdam, The Hague, Groningen, Rotterdam, July 16. www.pathe.nl

Admire the dexterity of brothers
The young Dutch piano-playing brothers, now 18 and 21 years old, have made an international reputation both as solo artists and as a duo. For this concert they play one of Beethoven’s few pieces for four hands, the sonata in D. Also on the programme are works by Mozart and Schubert.

Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, July 18. www.concertgebouw.nl

Gaze at the Dutch countryside
The Hague School paintings of the late 19th century are full of traditional Dutch scenes of grazing cattle, windmills and billowing white clouds. These images still determine the way the Netherlands is seen. This major exhibition features over 100 paintings by such artists as Weissenbruch, Mesdag and Gabriël Mauve, including many which are on loan from Japanese collections.

Gemeentemuseum, The Hague until August 30. www.gemeentemuseum.nl

Hear the crack of bat on ball

The World Port Tournament is a biennial event which attracts top baseball teams from around the globe. Among those taking part this year are the Netherlands, USA, Cuba, Japan and Taiwan. Matches take place all week with the final on Sunday July 26.

Neptunus Stadium, Rotterdam, July 18 to 26. www.rotterdamtopsport.nl

Enjoy theatre in a tent
De Parade consists of a large number of colourful tents which travel the four main cities. Most of the tents offer performances of music, theatre, dance, opera and mime, while others are restaurants or cafes. Whatever the weather, the circus-like atmosphere is a real treat.

And with performances taking between three and forty minutes, it’s easy to fit in several each evening. Many are in Dutch, but there are a number of shows in English or without words.

Among the treats in store are a bingo hall offering slapstick, dance and music, an amusing take on the teasing that goes on at a swimming pool and performances by students from the mime school in Amsterdam.

Moreelse Park, Utrecht, July 17 to August 2. www.deparade.nl