The World List of Phobias lists 535 extreme fears. Will festivalophobia become number 536? Perhaps it will, after a visit to this contemporary house of horrors made by theatre maker/visual artist Dries Verhoeven [Oosterhout, 1976].
His sinister Phobiarama demonstrates the way terrorists, politicians and some media explicitly play into our heightened watchfulness. On the one hand Phobiarama confronts us with our obsession with security and perfection. On the other it shows the appeal of the creepy. It premieres at Holland Festival 2017, and then travels on to Theatrefestival Boulevard.
Some practical notices: Phobiarama is not accessible to wheelchairs. Furthermore, the show is not suited for children under 14 or epileptics. ‘Enter at your peril’ certainly applies to visitors with overstimulated amygdalae – the almond-shaped nuclei in the prefrontal lobe that process fear.

conceived by: Dries Verhoeven
performed by: Michelangelo Hansen, Earl Daniel, Faiz Faouzi, Malcolm Pengel, Ozan Aydogan, Quincy Nelstein, Rodney Glunder, Rosario Roumou, Sohrab Bayat, Virginio Papa, Zouhair Mtazi

To artists the end of time has been an enduring inspiration. It is a paradox explored by the likes of Dürer and Dalí, but also by Tamar Blom of the young collective Wild Vlees. His installation Apocalypse prompts some interesting questions: how legitimate is our fear of the coming of the last days? Where does this recurring dread stem from? Tamar has researched the apocalypse across the ages. His installation marks the drastic changes in the way we relate to the world over the last 200 years. Disclaimer: apocalypse imminent before or during Boulevard 2017.

Medical science is popular, as we can gather from Playmobil Clinic no. 4343 and X-ray Room no. 6659. Designer Pleun van Dijk [Tilburg, 1992] also views the body as a fascinating DIY-kit. In Reborn she accelerates the rise of biomedical technology, bringing the perfect human being within reach: when the body becomes a modular system, we can replace malfunctioning or broken body parts.

Reborn is an attempt by Pleun, who graduated from Design Academy Eindhoven, to offer a platform for ethical questions, reflection and dialogue. An installation that will steal your heart. But don’t worry: you’ll get a new one.

created by: Pleun van Dijk

presented under curatorship of Wild Vlees

When Jetse Batelaan [Almere, 1978] was about eight years old, his parents took him to see an art exhibition at Fort Asperen. When he had arrived he tied a length of rope into a somewhat artistic-looking knot. Just to see what the response would be. There was a man walking around the fort who was being quite bombastic about art, trying to impress his girlfriend. Then Jetse heard him lecture to her about…a piece of rope tied into a knot. He thought it was art.
Today Jetse is the artistic director of Theater Artemis. The question he always comes back to is: what is theatre? A query that has many siblings; like what is art? Can ordinary things be art? Het koninklijk museum voor interessante kunst (The royal museum of interesting art) is a surprising exhibition plus audio-tour. Will there be a knotted piece of rope? Come and see for yourself.

compiled and created by: Jetse Batelaan
produced by Theater Artemis

During the graduates´ exhibition of the AKV|St. Joost art school, Timo de Rijk, director of Stedelijk Museum ’s-Hertogenbosch and professor design history, selects the most interesting work by the youngest generation of visual artists. Together, they cover four disciplines: illustration, animation, photography and film. De Rijk is going to complement the selection with work of the alumni, or former students, of the school. The exhibition is on display at the Verkadefabriek for the entire month of August.

There are free shuttle busses available from the festivalsquare to the location of the show. These busses leave half an hour before the show starts. 

Boulevard operates in close collaboration with the artists of
the future. Such as those of the school for Communication
and Media Design (CMD) at the Avans University of Aplied
Science in ’s-Hertogenbosch, who have developed an
installation especially for the Josephkwartier.

Relax. Take it one step at a time. We’ve got all the time in the world– oh well, not all the time. Anyway, it’s fine. As long as you can go on and you’re not scared: let’s keep going. In the poignant show Buiten Dienst (Out of Order) Schippers&VanGucht invite you to attend an intimate encounter. At Boulevard 2016 this company caused a rapid spread of gooseflesh, caused by Molman, the show they presented in a sea container. A warning though: Buiten Dienst is not suitable for claustro-, acro- or gerascophobics.

Conceived by: Schippers&VanGucht

Created by: Jellie Schippers, Myriam Van Gucht, Arjen Klerkx, Joeri Cnapelinckx, Toon Kuijpers, Dorine Cremers, Florain Verheijen, Simon Haen

The drinking straw, the clothes-peg, love. Genius inventions, but worthless when compared to the nose mirror, a discovery with which Sonja Volmer graduated from art school. During Boulevard 2016 you could spot her spiral walkers following a trail through the Josephkwartier. This year, the nose mirror will turn De Parade on its head. A hallucinating experience that will tilt your perspective on the body, the mind, and 126 chestnut trees.

conceived and created by: Sonja Volmer

Benjamin Vandewalle [Wilrijk, 1983] builds weird and wonderful constructions that toy with the laws of optics. His aim: to test and research our observations.
In the Josephkwartier he is setting up his Peri-Sphere; on De Parade the installation Inter-view. Stick your head in there. It will absorb you, disorient you. But there is a big reward: inside that enclosed space, you will have a rare encounter.

coproduced by Kaaitheater  

For a whole year the Flemish theatre maker Kyoko Scholiers [Antwerp, 1981] travelled around with a phone booth that she had built. In this setting she would have conversations with men, women and children who have severed all ties with society – either forcedly or by their own will. Among these battered souls were detainees, refugees and drifters, but also children in foster care, patients and prostitutes. From the many hours of recorded talks Kyoko then distilled a number of fragments.
Misconnected is her installation, made up of four phone booths moving slowly along a set of tracks. Visitors step inside and listen for five minutes to the tales and en lamentations callers once confided to Kyoko. Passers-by see an intriguing landscape with phone booths slowly traversing it.

conceived & created by Kyoko Scholiers

coproduced with De Warande [Turnhout], kc Nona [Mechelen], C-Takt [Hasselt en Genk], KAAP [Oostende en Brugge]

Artists love a tilted perspective. In Hartstocht [2004], Dries Verhoeven/Roos van Geffen had their audience drive around holding mirrors in their laps; for Gerucht [2007] Lotte van den Berg placed a giant peep-box in the middle of a square.

The Flemish choreographer Benjamin Vandewalle is the next one to celebrate voyeurism. Over the past few years he made the installations Birdwatching 4x4 and Point of View. His most recent work is Peri-sphere [2015], which comprises a single bed and an ingenious system of adjustable periscopes. These present the visitor, flat on his back, with a complex image of the surroundings. Peri-sphere offers double madness: depersonalisation and fragmentation, as the body appears to be present in several places at the same time.

coproduced by Kaaitheater  

It's not the first time Shanti Straub performs a short performance on a festival. Maybe you've seen Mono Mono, a short performance about silence, or you've seen her running in Storm in a Glass of Water (Storm in a teacup) at Tweetakt Festival. For Stick in a field she frames musician Jeroen Mesker in a different context. The leadman and songwriter of the Roots, Rhythm and New Orleans jazz band Maison du Malheur  will shine his light on you. Short scenes and a longlasting image. Music makes it's entrance and questions arise. We will enter the music. Shanti and Jeroen are in it, and so are you. Why can't we look at ourselves from the outside? How will we look at this moment in the future? Stick in a field displays a rusty Americana musical vibe where Shanti asks questions, Jeroen answers, although the answers were there first.

BOULEVARDROUTE (Language no problem)

This arrangement is especially for the youngsters among us, but certainly also tasty for the grandparents and grandmothers they bring. It includes theatre, an ice cream and an audio tour. At the end, 'our' Pepijn has the best crepes for you, following his own grandmother's recipe: so delicious.

The programme:

In the beginning there was nothing. Darkness. A tiny light appeared on the horizon. Then slowly but surely, everything came to life. Maité, het meisje en de vogel (Maité, the girl and the bird) is a cinematographic shadow play with live music. It tells an absurd story of the Creation that would even have Darwin raise an eyebrow. The central story is the life of Maité, but of course, significant other roles are performed by Godzilla, the poison apple in Snow White, the first man on the moon and a fried chicken.

The key question raised in this magical road movie: are the musicians accompanying the shadow play? Or are they directing the shadows with their exotic music by Les Baxter and Martin Denny? A candid performance that shows two performers and three musicians using everything that crosses their path.

shadow play: Bruno Vansina

music: Bruno Vansina [flute, melodica, synth and paraphernalia], Pierre Vervloesem [guitar], Frank Van Eycken [vibraphone, marimba, percussion]

dancers/actors: Katrien Vandergooten and Isabelle Dekeyser

There is a tiny red light blinking away on George’s spacesuit. It is the only light in this pitch-black corner of the universe. Or is it? Look over there: a tiny green light blinking! It’s getting closer and closer! It is Gracey, floating by in a spacesuit. She waves as she passes by. George waves back. And then slowly she disappears into the remote universe again. Or…are things not what they seem?
Cube to… is an amazing, highly physical show. Using thought experiments from quantum mechanics, a story develops that offers plenty of discoveries, imagination and shifts in perspective. Firma Draak is a young performance collective with a great love of visual theatre.

conceived and performed by Nick Bos, Mathieu Wijdeven
directed by: Lotte Bos
in collaboration with: i.s.m. Feikes Huis, Het Huis Utrecht, WORM/UBIK Rotterdam

Five miniature theatres. Each seating two, three or four festival visitors. One of them gets behind the little red curtain, the other[s] take their seat[s] as spectator[s]. All of them are given headphones to wear. The performer, who has a box of objects in front of him, follows the instructions on his headphones, while the spectators hear an eight-minute version of one of Shakespeare’s dramas. Thanks to the imaginative performance the story only gains in expressive power. To smile or not to smile: no question.

Coproduction with The National Theatre [GB]

In the shower. While riding your bicycle. In bed, or by someone’s bedside. Suddenly you realise what is really important. You feel where you come from, the beliefs you will defend, the place you call home. Moments like these resound all through Clarity, a show featuring live music, dance and video art.

A glorious stage performance by singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist iET [Rhenen, 1978]. The Italian dancer and video artist Davide Bellotta, from Conny Janssen Danst, has turned some of iET’s songs into video images and a choreography for two dancers. More clarity: there are three musicians offering clear support.

music performed and composed by: iET

band: Budy Mokoginta, Thierry Castel, Mark Schilders

dancers: Adi Amit, Yoko Ono Haveman, Ricardo Vera Afanado

choreography and video by: Davide Bellotta

Alter Ego is a solo performance that draws upon David Byrne’s almost anthroposophical book How Music Works [2012]. The Godfather of Psycho Killer? Fafafafa: that’s right, it’s him, the artist who likes to juggle multiple identities. Actor Yannick Noomen [1987] plays an adolescent girl who vlogs, an A&R manager, a despairing hipster and ‘himself’. Which of his alter egos fits Byrne’s contemporaneous writings best?

performed by: Yannick Noomen
directed by: Lizzy Timmers
a coproduction with Paradiso Melkweg Productiehuis

“We are faced with more and more information, and less and less meaning”, the philosopher Baudrillard [1929-2007]  gloomily observed. Thankfully, Chase Blackmore and Summer Love Goodwin – the alter egos of actress Annica Muller and physical actor Barnaby Savage – will not be discouraged. In Chasing Summer: Part 2 they continue their bombastic road trip. Together they travel from yearning to enlightenment and finally to salvation. Everything they run into along the way can be of use: from high art and Kant to kitsch and Kardashians.

conceived, directed and performed by: Annica Muller & Barnaby Savage

There he is. Lying there, unconscious, by the looks of it. Is he breathing?! What happened? Phone. Someone should call an ambulance! But whose phone? Does anyone here have any experience with this sort of thing? Or any kind of thing? What do you think his name is? Do you think it may have been something he ate? And if so, when did he eat it? De Omstanders (Bystanders) is a tragi-comical show about morbid curiosity around disasters. About the transitory nature of contact. About feeling like an amateur human being. About small-time anti-heroes.

performed by: Paméla Menzo, Carola Bärtschiger, Bas Jilesen and Stephan van Hesteren
conceived and directed by: Anne van Dorp

The strongest drink in the world is Spirytus Stawski. Alcohol percentage: 96%. It’s Polish. The strongest asshole-behaviour? Undiluted, 100%. It’s Dutch, as actress Willemijn Zevenhuijzen (1976) proves in her headbutt of a play, Assholism. With three more members of the brand new Pink Flamingooo collective she welcomes her audience into her mobile unit/front room café. The chosen domicile of a rag-tag crew of proud outcasts. Larger than life, no shame. Will they try put up a front? They won’t. The front room café will be open in between shows.

of/ with: Willemijn Zevenhuijzen, Tessa Jonge Poerink, Don Duyns, Eva Zwart

It is Friday, 13 December, 1872. Lovers Hendricus Jut and Christina Goedvolk plan to rob a rich widow, but the whole thing gets horribly out of hand. Their crime shakes the nation. In this musical and theatrical road trip, based on a true story, writer Oscar Kocken [Eindhoven, 1983] and singer-songwriter Démira Jansen [Doetinchem, 1997] trace the footsteps of the two criminal lovers on the run. Gradually Oscar and Démira discover how passionate love can lead to a murder, and how a murder can lead to terrific fairground attraction.

Created and performed by: Oscar Kocken & Démira Jansen

What sounds like now is a freestyle rap performance which the two Rotterdam performers say is doomed to fail. A ruthless battle to the bone, crushed by the pressure to perform and self-censorship. Their verbal battle turns out to be a stage trap. Who are the dimwits they’ve lured into it? Well, they themselves. The audience witnesses their attempts to escape. An honest through and through performance by actor Nick Livramento Silva and performer Joey Schrauwen.

The Donkey, the Cat and the Chicken decide to run away from home. However, what happens when you are all alone in the world? Luckily, they have each other. They decide to produce music together in the big city! The city is further away than expected and they experience exciting adventures on the way. Will they succeed, reach the city and become famous?

Three musicians tell the story of the Donkey, the Cat and the Chicken through the use of their trombone, saxophone and flute. During this musical performance, children get to know classical music in a playful way. Do you want to join us on this adventure?

This solo is the second act of the triptych. It questions the same ideas fond to the choreographer: the construction of an identity through a territory. In this creation, Tony Thich dives into the genesis of its practice. He shares his doubts and his convictions, his runups and his intimate reserves. He evolves in a scenographic space of multiple dimensions. This scenography, which reminds us the urban materials (plexiglas and metal), offers not only a ground of expression to the vertiginous movements of the interpreter, but it also reveals the stakes which he crosses. He envies his initial partition and does it again, taken by the music of Vivaldi, a version quite in delicacy and in energy of the presto passage of the Summer of The Four Seasons by Il Giardino Armonico. The various resumptions, remind us the demands of this practice that allies a mental preparation to the major work of repetition. This solo partition, such as he experiences it, is an evocation of the myth of Icare. He challenges the gravity, nevertheless, each of his breakaways returns him to the ground and to this weight that attaches him to the earth. All his ripped gestures, his suspended questions, call no answer and they simply strengthen the intensity of the shared moment. He expresses much more that he means.

Café and chip shop De Sportvriend in Belzele is languishing. Even barflies are ignoring it. But still, its patrons Alice and her brother Jules are sticking to their guns. Their only punter is the bullied school teacher Daan a.k.a. the big baboon. The place is a sinkhole. Nothing will stand upright in this no man’s land. But they’ve got each other. That is, until Ulrike appears, clad in cycling gear.

In the richly imagined tragicomedy Chasse Patate these gnarled mortals try to hold their own while the ground beneath their feet grows squidgy. This family show is a layered declaration of love to all the dreamers, the fighters and to lukewarm beer. The Flemish company by Studio ORKA excels at showcasing the human capacity for comfort. A warm embrace. Best show of the year, according to De Standaard.

directed and performed by: Philippe Van de Velde, Martine Decroos, Dominique Van Malder, Julie Delrue, Titus De Voogdt, Janne Desmet

music: Wim Deliveyne, Peter De Bosschere, Luc Waegeman
shape: Philippe Van de Velde, Kwint Manshoven 

decor: Philippe Van de Velde, Kwint Manshoven, Kris Van Oudenhove, Stef Decoster, Niels Ieven, Bart Van Bellegem, Bram Rombouts, Kobe Vandenberghe
coach: Peter Monsaert
production: Maarten Naessens, Famke Dhont, Isabelle Vermeulen, Karen Van De Voorde
costumes: Maartje Van Bourgognie, Elise Goedgezelschap
technics: Lorin Duquesne
thanks to: Mieke Versyp, Familie Claes
coproduction: Ruhrtriennale – Festival of the Art, NTGent, Theaterfestival Boulevard en C-mine.
with support of: Vlaamse Overheid, Stad Gent, Provincie Oost-Vlaanderen.  

We are here only temporarily. The earth turns more slowly, but our world is turning faster. Time is a hunted animal.

Just then we were rushing to get here, and in a minute we'll hurry on further. But right now, in this empty space, we have ourselves a tiny particle of time. Let’s take this precious moment by the hand or perhaps even unfold it..? Can we bundle our powers and step together into the loophole, where you can be who you are, where nothing needs to happen? For as long as it takes? For the time being.

For The Time Being is a consolation, (because it is) a wordless piece of theatre. With her richly imagined, musical shows Boukje Schweigman [Zambia, 1974] sets your senses on edge. Toying with your expectations and with theatre codes she dares you to use your own resources. Slagwerk Den Haag is fascinated by sounds, pulses and materials that can act as sound sources.

There are free shuttle busses available from the festivalsquare to the location of the show. These busses leave half an hour before the show starts. 

directed by Boukje Schweigman

sound composition by Fedor Teunisse, Frank Wienk

lighting design by Theun Mosk, Grischa Runge (assistant)

costume design by Esmée Thomassen

performers Sieger Baljon, Sue-Ann Bel, Hannegijs Jonker, Jasper Koopmans, Toon Kuijpers, Hali Neto, Moene Roovers, Ivar Schutte, Santino Slootweg, Rick van de Steen, Sus Verbruggen, Jurriaan de Vos, Luuk Weers

directors assistant Anemone Oostvriesland

technician Marcel Slagter

production Linda Witpaard, Kas Pijs (intern)

with thanks to: Amsterdam University of the Arts, ArtEZ University of the Arts

KALF tells the story of the eleven-year-old Gerrit. Together with his brother, father, grandpa and great grandfather, he lives on a rural dairy farm. Gerrit is a sensitive boy holding himself together in the harsh and brutal world of his family. Gerrit’s mother left, just like all other women. Since they never talk about the women, Gerrit wonders more and more about his mom. When his brother brings home a girl after a winter party, Gerrit feels understood for the first time in his life. He attempts every way possible to make her stay. But does his family want her to stay, too?

Flip-flap-flop: turn to the back three time with your left, bottom section anticlockwise, middle section rip-rip and there it is! Green is upside down. A dance show like a Rubik’s cube.

Rubiks cube, the super puzzle, who hasn’t heard of it? It was THE hit toy in the eighties. Popular with people of all ages. If you were unable to solve it, well, then you simple took a screwdriver, pried all the little sections loose and reassembled it. 

The dance performance Rubik is an invitation to turn, twist, duck and tilt, and see the world a little differently every time. The show deals with how people can be assembled and with interaction as an eternally available option. So: come by, let go of everything and experience the brightly coloured living puzzle for yourself.

Erik Kaiel is a Lebanese-American choreographer who was born in Austria. He travels across Europe, North America and Africa as a teacher, dancer and choreographer. His current home base is The Hague. Kaiel has made a great number of shows for children and young audiences. His style is very physical and energetic. He presented No man is an Islandat an earlier edition of Tweetakt/Kaap. Over the past few years, Erik has performed several successful TYA shows here, including Tetris, O Snap, Murikamifikation and Onstuitbaar. His work is appealing, and is often set in unusual locations: underground stations, emptied swimming pools and department stores. In addition to working as a choreographer, Kaiel is the artistic director of Crosstown Den Haag and a teacher at ArtEZ Dansacademie in Arnhem. At this year’s Tweetakt you can also see The pusher, the pulsewhich he made with DOX as part of DOX PLAYGROUND #1.

Choreography: Erik Kaiel 
Dancers: Hilde Elbers, Laurel Jenkins, Joseph Simon, Toby Determino
Music: mix by DJ Djerassi

In a society that relies so heavily on facts, proof, selfies and statistics, how a person experiences a show is in itself
an act of representation. The fact that there were two actors and five set changes doesn’t really reveal anything
about what the play was like. But what words do we choose to describe the sudden dawning of an insight, a confronting image, or the slow passing of time? Playwright Anna van der Kruis welcomes you into her open-air reception room every day from 6.00 to 10.00 PM. She is not out after the how and why of the show you visited. She does hope to massage out the experience and glean a few words to share the experience.

Somewhere in the outskirts of Budapest a civil servant rings a doorbell. An eviction notice in his briefcase. She will have to leave her grimy flat. Defaulters won’t be tolerated. But an unexpected turn of events brings the government official face to face with a dilemma.
Imitation of Life is a cinematographic, poetic and provocative masterpiece about the dregs of society. The Hungarian theatre and film maker Mundruczó [Gödöllő, 1975] is fascinated with social exclusion. For Imitation of Life he drew from a controversial criminal trial in May 2015, when a boy stabbed a young Roma to death on a bus in Budapest. The culprit himself turned out to be another Roma.
Do we pick our own fate, or are our lives predetermined? That is the central question in this gooseflesh-inducing play. Slowly the decrepit apartment begins to reveal its dark secrets to its new residents. One thing is certain: family history will repeat itself if certain patterns aren’t broken. “Drama that will move you to tears”, according to ruhrbarone.de.

directed by: Kornél Mundruczó
performed by: Lili Monori, Roland Rába, Annamária Láng, Zsombor Jéger, Dáriusz Kozma

With the Danish dance company Himherandit, trans-performer Danni Mariblanca explores his fraught relationship with femininity. What are the consequences of the blurring outline of femininity for him? For an androgynous dancer the question is like a layer-cake: multi-layered, sweet and irresistible.
In his solo WOMAN, tenderness impresses muscle power, and vice versa. Witness the slow development of a playful triangle of physical theatre, dance and performance. The choreography was made by Andreas Constantinou, founder of Himherandit.
The daring, uncompromising WOMAN has been nominated for the 2017 Reumert Award in the category ‘Best dance show in Denmark’. The European dance network Aerowaves has selected WOMAN for Twenty 17, the 20 most promising European choreographers.

Combiticket on Thursday the 3rd of August: Chasse Patate by Studio Orka & Woman by Himherandit.
​Together for € 29,- / € 27,- Friends.

On Friday the 4th of August a guest to the Openluchtgesprek at 15:30.

danced by: Danni Mariblanca
choreographed by: Andreas Constantinou

Heinz Polzer, a.k.a. Drs. P, may have held a degree in economics, but as a songwriter, poet and musician he gave the Dutch GNP for linguistic joy a real boost. In June 2015 he died. Time to bring a musical ode to the man, thought singer Fay Lovsky [Leyden, 1955], actress Ineke Nijssen [Eindhoven,1960], violinist Nele Paelinck [1977] and actress Maaike Cafmeyer [Torhout, 1973].
With their staged concert they are honouring the man who was responsible for unforgettable lyrics about a troika ride to Omsk, the to-ing and fro-ing of a ferry and chicory, swede, black salsify and leek. Soirée Émancipée is made with vocal/musical support from singer Jan De Smet [Duffel, 1953], drummer Stoy Stoffelen [Belgium, 1954] and guitarist Jean Blaute [Zottegem, 1952]. The curator of this unique concert is theatre maker Dirk Pauwels [Antwerp, 1955].

curator: Dirk Pauwels
featuring: Fay Lovsky, Ineke Nijssen, violinist Nele Paelinck, actress Maaike Cafmeyer and drummer Stoy Stoffele

Besides the graduate-shows there are short presentations in de Muzerije (daily and for free). You can also see expositions with art from students of the different studies of FHK in de Muzerije.

Unannounced, a young country singerslash-guitar-player stepped onto an empty beer crate during Boulevard 2015 and proceeded to mesmerize the audience with his prairie-pretty tunes. It turned out to be Pete Buijs, from Chicago, a nephew of Boulevard-board member Ans Buys – he does spell his name with an ‘i’ and a ‘j’. A tradition was born: every night at 10 PM a different singer-songwriter gives a (free) intimate concert underneath the chestnut trees.

Every night at 11.00 PM: a little concert beneath the stars to celebrate the musical talents of the theatre makers, musicians, technicians and staff of Boulevard 2017.

Supermoon? The next one is not due until 5.46 PM, 3 December 2017. But Boulevard is already howling for dance and music: the five men in Supermoon play Moonstruck Future Funk. Their own favourites include CSNY, Jon Cleary, Blowbeat and The Meters.

Poo! How gross! Mole has barely lifted his head above ground to see if the sun’s come up, and someone does their business on his head! Whodunit? Not a clue. Mole goes out to hunt for the truth, but all the animals deny. Thankfully there are two big fat black flies who can help.

About a little mole who knew it was none of his business is a hilarious physical show, almost wordless, based on the famous book by Werner Holzwarth and Wolf Elbruch. The theme: injustice, and the question whether it is always wise to want to be put in the right.

performed by: Olaf van de Ven, Christiaan Bloem, Stijn Hoes, Jorgen Scholtens, Jan Willem van Beusekom

directed by: Henk De Reus

KOBE is a collective set up by Nastaran Razawi Khorasani [Iran, 1987] and Davy Pieters [Heemstede, 1988]. The two actresses create hilarious performances that navigate happily between art and kitsch. Their defining characteristic: a bombastic, colourful and highly physical style. Contemporary phenomena and pop culture form their inspiration.
The KOBE concert is a live music video set to sharply satirical tracks. Supported by several performers KOBE idolizes, romanticizes and satirizes contemporary [music] culture. KOBE presents super-tight choreographies and lots and lots of playback to titles like Adult Toys, Pussytrack Terrortrack and the Killertrack.

KOBE Concert – performed by: Nastaran Razawi Khorasani and others, music by: Jimi Zoet

How? What? Why? In a world that’s in danger of collapsing under the weight of all the exclamation marks, Boulevard is offering daily asylum to the question marks. They can be found, for instance, in the freely accessible Out in the Open-talks. In these daily conversations theatre maker Emke Idema gives the question mark free rein, in a search to find the connections between the festival and the city. How does an urban ecologist see Nachtschade, a theatrical ode to the aubergine? And why do the members of Wunderbaum read David Foster Wallace (Superleuk) books over and over again? Listen in, join in the conversation and help us find unsuspected festival context.

Guestlist

fri 4 aug

Eliza Steinbock, assistent, professor at the University of Leiden, about (trans)gender and representation for HIMHERANDIT | Woman

A block of wood, a man, a woman. It sounds straightforward enough, but for Zinzi & Evertjan it’s more complicated. In their cheerful performance they link movement with theatre and acrobatics. In 2011 the performers graduated from the circus schools in Rotterdam [Codarts] and Tilburg [ACaPA]. They are currently touring with Cie XY from France.

In collaboration with performer Marijn Brussaard [XXX? 1993], multidisciplinary artist Nikki Hock [Amsterdam, 1988] sends you on a journey across a landscape of fears. Code orange for all the senses: the performance Why why ohh why [YYOY] makes you extremely alert, through ingenious manipulation of lights, colours, temperature, smells and analogue sound and video effects.
The ominous YYOY is the first part of the trilogy Why why ohh why that tackles the pillars of contemporary citizenship. Inspired by a quote from the British/Hungarian sociologist and contrary thinker Frank Furedi: “The only thing we have to fear is the culture of fear itself.”

conceived & performed by: Marijn Brussaard and Nikki Hock

Two men. One is an artist. The other a doorman, desperately trying to find himself. He wants to keep the artist from performing at all cost. All is fair in this war, because the idea is that nothing happens in this show. Which is no easy feat; after all, before you know it, you’ve made a joke. The people from Theater Artemis aren’t so sure they will succeed either: “We can’t make any promises. But can we keep our word?”

Twelve years ago, Jetse Batelaan [Almere, 1978] stole the hearts of theatre audiences and the press with this show. It was his first play for children, made with Tg. Max. “Monty Python for children”, people murmured. “Either he’s bonkers or he’s a genius”, the jury of the Gold Cricket Awards said. A visually rich and slightly absurdist show that has become part of the Dutch theatre canon.

There are free shuttle busses available from the festivalsquare to the location of the show. These busses leave half an hour before the show starts. 

Combiticket on Sunday the 6th of August: Voorstelling waarin hopelijk niets gebeurt by Theater Artemis and Nachtschade: Aubergine by Muziektheater Transparant. Together for € 27,- / € 25,- Friends.

On Tuesday the 10th of August a guest in Tafelen met makers at 16:15.

On Saturday the 5th of August a guest in the Openluchtgesprek at 15:30.

directed by: Jetse Batelaan

performed by: René Geerlings, Martin Hofstra

coproduced with BonteHond

N.N. means nomen nescio. But N.N. represents in
particular a name that is gaining fame: Nienke Nillesen
won the Fontys Entree prize at Boulevard 2016 for her
music theatre production Masai. In the production, the
Dutch-Tanzanian mezzosoprano alternates between
personal stories, classical arias and African songs. The
focal point is her relationship with her father, a Masai
chief, and her 32 half-brothers and sisters (and no, that
number is not a hakuna typo to say it in Swahili) Masai is
a moving story about family, missing, communication and
a mysterious sand mountain, causing plenty of laughter.
But fi rst and foremost Masai explores cultural differences,
and Nienke’s effortless way of rising above them: “Even
though I am unable to communicate with many of my
family members, dancing, singing and jumping together
has given me a real sense of connection.”

vocals and play: Nienke Nasserian Nillesen
music: Ben van Daal (piano), Jeanine Melis of Lieke Daniels (violin), Demos Horn or Reggy van Bakel
(drums)
directed by: Naomi van der Linden
playcoach and directional advice: Lizzy Timmers
a coproduction with Theaterfestival Boulevard

Every day, except Tuesday 8 August, you can have dinner with the artists at the Josephkwartier. The dinners
are linked to visiting a specific show. With a maximum of eight guests you join some of the members of the day’s company for dinner and conversation at a big table in the courtyard. This is the third year of these dinner sessions. An encounter that offers a tried-and-tested mix of sharing food and thoughts. It’s okay to talk with your mouth full. Either before or after the dinner you will visit the show made by the artists at your table.

Please note: due to the nature of this format (talk), Dinner with the artists is not suitable for the deaf or hard of hearing.

In [Not] My Paradise the Flemish theatre maker Sachli Gholamalizad [Anzali, 1982] travels to Iran, where she was born. She interrogates her uncles, who cheerfully share their stories of Sachli’s grandfather. He owned a frivolous nightclub where divas danced in a daze of alcohol. In addition to former nightclubbers, Sachli also interviews her grandmother – who doesn’t seem too sad to be widowed – and a suspicious aunt. Sachli Gholamalizad is loosening soil that has been firmly tamped down. Breathing new life into old stories of love, murder and kinship.
[Not] My Paradise is an intricate web of performance, documentary images and interviews and deals with the fluid nature of identity. At Boulevard 2016 Sachli Gholamalizad performed the much-praised A reason to talk.

There are free shuttle busses available from the festivalsquare to the location of the show. These busses leave half an hour before the show starts. 

play: Sachli Gholamalizad

Director Suze Milius is fascinated with the narrative power of colours. Urlandperformer Marijn Alexander de Jong
wants to get a grip on the intellectual effect of sung lyrics. Annelinde Bruijs is connecting their research questions in a
clever colour-based musical in-the-making.

In about forty reading seconds, get ready to run. Feel your heart begin to race, your pupils dilating. A single question will escape your mouth: where do I get tickets? Club Cabaret is a unique concept. You will visit Club Cabaret – the gig in one of Den Bosch's pubs. From behind the bar a number of Dutch and South African stand-up acts will be doing their routines, taking in the state of the nation and encouraging debate.

The participants are: Minou Bosua, Maud Vanhauwaert, Michiel Lieuwma, Patrick Nederkoorn, Pieter Derks, Katinka Polderman, Anne Neut, Jaap Robben and Flip Noorman.
Club Cabaret is part of Engagement 2.0, an initiative taken by the Koningstheateracademie in ’s-Hertogenbosch consisting of academic and artistic research and research into audiences. Theaterfestival Boulevard is one among many academic and artistic partners from the Netherlands, Flanders, the UK and South Africa.

In about forty reading seconds, get ready to run. Feel your heart begin to race, your pupils dilating. A single question will escape your mouth: where do I get tickets? Club Cabaret is a unique concept. You will visit Club Cabaret – the gig in one of Den Bosch's pubs. From behind the bar a number of Dutch and South African stand-up acts will be doing their routines, taking in the state of the nation and encouraging debate.

The participants are: Minou Bosua, Maud Vanhauwaert, Michiel Lieuwma, Patrick Nederkoorn, Pieter Derks, Katinka Polderman, Anne Neut, Jaap Robben and Flip Noorman.
Club Cabaret is part of Engagement 2.0, an initiative taken by the Koningstheateracademie in ’s-Hertogenbosch consisting of academic and artistic research and research into audiences. Theaterfestival Boulevard is one among many academic and artistic partners from the Netherlands, Flanders, the UK and South Africa.

Laura van Dolron [Rotterdam, 1976] is the founder of stand-up philosophy – her very own, unique genre. Her shows take on the form of a non-scientific research, and see her navigating from soaring, funny heights to poetic and philosophical depths.
After her successful show Sartre zegt sorry she is now sharing her explorations in love with her audience. Laura investigates her own heart and mind, but also those of the people around her and all throughout world history, trying to find individuals who can teach us what it means to love. No mean feat, as it turns out, but a delight to attend. Liefhebben (Loving)is a cleanse, a good soak in a hot tub. Get in and get wet. Don’t hesitate, take the plunge.

“Van Dolron resembles a female Woody Allen and she deserves an audience as big as the great master himself.” [jury of the Nederlands Theaterfestival]

written and performed by: Laura van Dolron

He watched her drown. They were watching a bird together. He never felt more connected  than when their eyes locked onto that same image and their thoughts merged. Then she fell into the river. No, he didn’t jump in after her. He didn’t have a swimming diploma. He didn’t have the courage.
De Helden (The heroes) is a monologue and a composition for voices, a music robot, and some old-fashioned tape recorders. About heroics, about a girl, and about guilt that will not dry.
Josse De Pauw [Asse, 1952] wrote De Helden upon the notes historian Sophie De Schaepdrijver whispered in his ear. She has studied heroes, who are often ordinary mortals prepared to do the dirty work.
In addition to this first instalment of De Pauw’s ‘trilogy/triphony’, Boulevard is also presenting part 2 – cf. right page. These are stand-alone plays that can be enjoyed independently.

There are free shuttle busses available from the festivalsquare to the location of the show. These busses leave half an hour before the show starts. 

written, directed & performed by: Josse De Pauw
composition & installation by: Dominique Pauwels
music by: Spectra Ensemble

a coproduction with Le Manège Maubeuge, La Rose des Vents Villeneuve d’Ascq and Théâtre de Namur

Stefan Kollee recently debuted his album Psycho Sister with his band The Naked Sweat Drips. The voice and songwriter of this 6-headed psycho-grunge formation ascends both live and on the record in the dark personalities and situations he describes and sings about. This time the musician takes the stage without the armada behind him, with his own compositions. Kollee brings thrifty, almost Springsteen-like songs with no other attributes than a guitar, his voice and a mouth-organ. His own mix of raw folk and schizofrenic Americana makes your eyebrows furrow and your back crawl. 

Would you like to see NOS-reporter Martijn van der Zande up close? You can. During four late nights this great guy
from ‘s-Hertogenbosch will be hosting his TLKSHW at Café De Keulse Kar. Actors, musicians and other talks of the town will be joining him. All of them connected by Boulevard. Martijn’s friendly crossfire will be supported by sidekicks both male and female. Added linguistic oomph comes from columnists Nynke de Jong, Mijke Pol and Lucas de Waard. Flunknarf closes every TLKSHW with a topical issues rap.

with Martijn van der Zande and guests

Donald, Mano, Marnix, Nicola and Pablo, the members of the Mauskovic-clan from Amsterdam, are treating you to Seventies Afro-beat and Columbian Cumbia, fortified with a dose of early 1980s New York no-wave sound by ESG and Liquid Liquid.

An eccentric lovesick man who sees love everywhere, Mr Mustache silently tells us his hilarious love story.
He will be able to succeed in conquering the girl, but in love the unexpected are always just around the corner…

A dance floor. A street party. Cumbia playing on the back. Three people dive into dancing. The proposal of this work is to create a physical language both risky and dynamic, through contemporary dance, acrobatics and the mechanics of contact; the constantly hazardous challenge of seeking said contact between the bodies without shadowing the clear intent of the character's motivations.

Performers: Candelaria Antelo/Anuska Alonso, Maximiliano Sanford, Lucio Baglivo.

Choreography: Lucio Baglivo with the support of  Candelaria Antelo, Maximiliano Sanford.

Costume Design: Lucio Baglivo.

Music: Electrónic Cumbia Mashup

Colaboration: Soledad Oviedo.

Photography: Bárbara Crosetti.

Original Concept: Lucio Baglivo.

Director: Lucio Baglivo.

Lucio Baglivo is supported by Robert WIlson.

This piece of work was crafted in the Temporary Residences awarded to the project by the CDC (Centro Danza Canal) in Madrid, and the CNDE (National Dance Company of Spain)

Surrounded by wooden cubes the Catalan trio PSirC, consisting of two men and a woman, explore the dizzying connections between acrobatics and mathematics. Soon it becomes clear that the triangle is an emotionally charged shape. Can it develop into new figures? Acrometria is a disorienting encounter between these pioneers of the balancing act.

Every day, except Tuesday 8 August, you can have dinner with the artists at the Josephkwartier. The dinners are inked to visiting a specific show. With a maximum of eight guests you join some of the members of the day’s company for dinner and conversation at a big table in the courtyard. This is the third year of these dinner sessions. An encounter that offers a tried-and-tested mix of sharing food and thoughts. It’s okay to talk with
your mouth full. Either before or after the dinner you will visit the show made by the artists at your table.

Please note: due to the nature of this format (talk), Dinner with the artists is not suitable for the deaf or hard of hearing.

In Waar heb je zolang gezeten (‘Where have you been all along’), we follow along with Jack, a young man in search of his place in the world. During his quest, he notices he does not belong anywhere. Until, he discovers an abandoned lake. An abandoned lake, surrounded with forest and an old rescue chair. Jack finds himself there. He thinks. He searches for happiness and gets lost in an imaginary world: an endless and complex stream of consciousness, which doesn’t let go of him anymore.

Waar heb je zolang gezeten is a monologue about a boy who searched but never found.

Where is home? An upstairs room with a blazing fire? Or a cell in a psychiatric hospital? Both, for Daniil Charms [1905-1942], Russia’s greatest absurdist writer. His skull simply glowed with creative drive, but he died in a mental institution after Stalin had had him declared insane.
In her powerful stage monologue Salut Copain the Flemish-Algerian theatre maker Dounia Mahammed [Brussels, 1990] interweaves texts by Charms with some of her own musings. Making optimum use of language to encircle the everyday, until it capitulates and admits to its oddity. Dounia philosophises, dreams and questions, going to and fro between despair and surprise. A powerful show – five stars in Theaterkrant – about the importance of letting the absurd be absurd.

Performed by: Dounia Mahammed

Lucas de Waard [‘s-Hertogenbosch, 1984] was probably conceived behind the local Remington typewriter factory: he’s always ready to write. He has typed up tantalising texts for the likes of Cojones [VARA], Het Zuidelijk Toneel and Bos Theaterproducties. In 2016 his musical Willem Ruis; de show van zijn leven won a Musical Award for Best Script. His debut novel De Kamers appeared in 2015. The sequel Kraaien tellen is set for release over the summer.
With his literary revue De Waard en zijn Gasten XL Lucas doused a crowded Boulevard Theater in improvisation and ink in 2016. The best Dutch writers and musicians read from their work, were interviewed and played music. Because it was so successful the show has been upgraded to XL-status. Remington may have gone bust, but literature is very much alive. Guests include Roos van Rijswijk [winner Anton Wachter-prize for 'Onheilig'] and Jan Beuving [winner Annie M.G. Schmidt-award and columnist for Studio Voetbal].

conceived by: Lucas de Waard
featuring: Lucas de Waard, Roos van Rijswijk, Jan Beuving

MOEDER MOET is a theatre performance about choices one has to make in times of war. What is the best strategy? What action provides security? Fleeing or staying? What is the safest for your children?

In her performance, Anna Fierling – better known as Moeder Courage – and her three children travel along with the army during the last thirty years of the Eighty Years’ War. As a restless sutler, she tries to create a living for herself until she tears apart between her mother love and the economy.

Salt keeps things from rotting. It is common knowledge among seafaring folk, but some theatre makers also know. In An incomplete life, Wild Vlees successfully pickles their audience’s attention. This fascinating performance by Tamar Blom [NL, 1992] and Francesca Lazzeri [Italy, 1991] embraces mortality. What is the role of human life on earth? Why do we want to hold onto it at all cost? The serene An incomplete life tells us living is learning to disappear slowly. Grain by grain.

Young theatre makers Wild Vlees have set up a long-term collaboration with Boulevard. Previous performances include Body On/Off and When everything is human, the human is an entirely different thing, in which a man and a woman merge in a wave of plaster.

performed by: Tamar Blom and Francesca Lazzeri

a coproduction by Festival Cement, Het Huis Utrecht, Theaterfestival Boulevard

We'd like to introduce ourselves as Panda Romance, a band from Tilburg full of young, tantalizing energy. Music means telling a story, and Panda Romance is always looking for someone who will listen. Singer Eva seizes you with her dark, sometimes vulnerable, but most importantly; powerful vocals. The men complete this sound with dramatic and steady play, that drags you through the ups and downs in life. Today you can hear the songs acoustically, the way they were once meant to be. 

We'd like to introduce ourselves as Panda Romance, a band from Tilburg full of young, tantalizing energy. Music means telling a story, and Panda Romance is always looking for someone who will listen. Singer Eva seizes you with her dark, sometimes vulnerable, but most importantly; powerful vocals. The men complete this sound with dramatic and steady play, that drags you through the ups and downs in life. Today you can hear the songs acoustically, the way they were once meant to be. 

Earth to ears: open up! What for? For something completely different: a delightful mix of Trans-Alpine genres – like brass band and tarantella – Fellinian opera buffa, electro Balkan-sounds and hints of klezmer. Its inventor is Luc Bassanese, who is here with his five-man Piccola Orchestra Popolare [P.O.P].

Wie Walvis is a company that treats its audiences far beyond the Arctic Ocean to music theatre shows full of laughter. For Blauw Gras they settle on a farm where they make blue grass. Grandpa lives here, with mother, son Woody and daughter Sue. They often sing and make music.
Suddenly one day, a tiny house appears on their farmyard. The music that comes from inside is nothing at all like the bluegrass they play together. Who lives there? What do they want!? Let’s get rid of the stranger! They decide to pester the life out of him.  

directed by: Albert Klein Kranenburg
performed by: Suzanne Bakker, Vincenzo Castellana, Stijn Hoes, Amarins Romkema and Carlos Zorita Diaz

What would objects say if they had voices? What does a pencil feel? What is it like to be air? What are the stones thinking as we walk across them? In the Parlement van de Dingen (The parliament of things) we try to give a voice to things.

Taking their inspiration from conversation techniques and rituals from all over the world Building Conversation has been steadily compiling a repertoire of conversations with participants from across Europe.

Last summer Building Conversation developed the Parlement van de Dingen, a conversational form based on the work of the French sociologist and philosopher Bruno Latour. Now they have joined forces with Theater Artemis and Boulevard to set up a cross-generational edition, challenging parents and children to take the perspective of an object. Afterwards there will be a picnic. With cake.

In Autocue, Anne Maike Mertens and Stephanie Louwrier study the strength of the spoken word, the power of speech(ing), the ability to control an audience. Is it the words that speak? Or is it the tone, the speaker’s bearing and facial expression? Why do we instantly believe one speaker, while we remain suspicious of another? A funny, incisive and disturbing solo by Stephanie Louwrier.

play and concept: Stephanie Louwrier
director and concept: Anne Maike Mertens

Two men. One is an artist. The other a doorman, desperately trying to find himself. He wants to keep the artist from performing at all cost. All is fair in this war, because the idea is that nothing happens in this show. Which is no easy feat; after all, before you know it, you’ve made a joke. The people from Theater Artemis aren’t so sure they will succeed either: “We can’t make any promises. But can we keep our word?”

Twelve years ago, Jetse Batelaan [Almere, 1978] stole the hearts of theatre audiences and the press with this show. It was his first play for children, made with Tg. Max. “Monty Python for children”, people murmured. “Either he’s bonkers or he’s a genius”, the jury of the Gold Cricket Awards said. A visually rich and slightly absurdist show that has become part of the Dutch theatre canon.

There are free shuttle busses available from the festivalsquare to the location of the show. These busses leave half an hour before the show starts. 

Combiticket on Sunday the 6th of August: Voorstelling waarin hopelijk niets gebeurt by Theater Artemis and Nachtschade: Aubergine by Muziektheater Transparant. Together for € 27,- / € 25,- Friends.

On Tuesday the 10th of August a guest in Tafelen met makers at 16:15.

On Saturday the 5th of August a guest in the Openluchtgesprek at 15:30.

directed by: Jetse Batelaan

performed by: René Geerlings, Martin Hofstra

coproduced with BonteHond

Beytna means 'our home'. If that doesn’t sound like a typically Dutch thing to you, you’re right: it is a Lebanese term. Choreographer Omar Rajeh from Lebanon is setting the table for four. His guests are choreographers Hiroaki Umeda, Anani Sanouvi and Koen Augustijnen from Japan, Togo and Belgium, respectively.
They take their seats and scrutinize contemporary dance from each other’s countries. How does it relate to tradition? The artists dance, perform, talk, do the cooking, eat and drink. With great gusto they celebrate their cultural diversity and the similarities. And when their music theatre/dance performance is over they invite the audience onto the stage for some nibbles. A feast for the eyes, and ears, and feet, and mouth. But first and foremost, a spiritual treat, for the mind will not be held back by barriers or visa.

Combiticket on Monday the 7th of August: Phobiarama by Dries Verhoeven and Beytna by Omar Rajeh. Together for € 32,50 / € 30,50 Friends.

On Monday the 7th of August a guest at the Openluchtgesprek at 15:30.

There are free shuttle busses available from the festivalsquare to the location of the show. These busses leave half an hour before the show starts. 

Concept & direction Omar Rajeh
Performed by Koen Augustijnen, Ziad Ahmadie, May Bou Matar, Moonsuk Choi, Youssef Hbeisch, Samir Nasr Eddine, Omar Rajeh, Ziyad Sahahb, Anani Sanouvi.
Choreographed by Koen Augustijnen, Omar Rajeh, Anani Sanouvi, and Hiroaki Umeda
Music Composition Ziad Ahmadie, Youssef Hbeisch, Samir Nasr Eddine & Ziyad Sahhab
Percussion Youssef Hbeisch
Voice Nohad Rajeh
Scenography & costumes Mia Habis
Sound Engineer: Jean-Christophe Batut
Lighting design Victor Duran Manzano
Technical director: Nadim Deaibes
Technical assistant: Salim Abou Ayyash
Tailor Georges Jamo
Graphic design & video animation Joe Elias/Nimslabs
Photography Tony Elieh

Produced by: Maqamat Beit El Raqs

Co-produced by: BIPOD-Beirut International Platform of Dance, Tanzquartier Wien, Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, CCN de La Rochelle / Cie Accrorap-Direction Kader Attou, Theater im Pfalzbau-Ludwigshafen, and Fondazione Fabbrica Europa.

An ode to the eggplant! Without it, Greek moussaka, Lebanese baba ganush, Italian melanzane and Turkish imambayildi would just be sad casseroles. A fruit that has travelled far afield: originating in Myanmar, it went Mediterranean. In the adventurous music theatre show Nachtschade: Aubergine soprano Claron McFadden [1961, New York] and documentary film maker Lisa Tahon [1989, Ostend] are going in search of all the things these cultures have in common. Their travel guide: the aubergine, that belongs to the nightshades – there is poetry even in plant determination.

Claron McFadden is staying with people in Morocco, Sicily, Greece and Turkey, where she learns how to make local aubergine dishes and practices traditional songs. All the things she learns form the foundation for a culinary staged concert about our desire for identity in a fast-changing, nomadic world. The audience experiences the versatile eggplant cuisine mixed with travel stories, a documentary and live music. All influenced by a multitude of cultures.

On Saturday the 5th of August as a guest to the Openluchtgesprek at 15:30.

A coproduction with Concertgebouw Brugge and Operadagen Rotterdam

concept & vocals: Claron McFadden
video: Lisa Tahon
compositions: Tuur Florizoone, Osama Abdulrasol, Yannick Peeters
advice: Sjaron Minailo
music: Oleg Fateev [accordion], Lode Vercampt [cello], Yannick Peeters [double bass], Jean-Philippe Poncin [clarinet], Osama Abdulrasol [qanun and ud], Shahin During [percussion]

A Syrian and a Colombian. Each rooted in his own history, a stranger upon arrival at Schiphol. Time to ask a question that will disturb the peace: aren’t we all strangers in our own country? Where do we belong? What is our destination now that borders seem to define who we are?
In the music theatre/dance performance De zoektocht (The Search), baritone Michael Wilmering [Colombia, 1988] and dancer Ahmed Joudeh [Syria, 1990] dissolve cultural boundaries.
Ahmad grew up in a Palestinian refugee camp near Damascus. During the war he gave dance lessons to children. In October 2016 he was able to flee to the Netherlands, with the support of the Dutch National Ballet, after the documentary Dance or Die had placed him in the spotlight.
Michael Wilmering and pianist Javier Rameix won the Junior and Press awards in the category 'Lied Duo' at the 2014 International Vocal Competition.

vocals: Michael Wilmering
dance: Ahmad Joudeh
piano: Kanako Inoue
choreography: Peter Leung
presentation in collaboration with Internationaal Vocalisten Concours

Singer Songwriter Tenfold’s folksy songs unfold her own perspective on the world. Lighthearted performance combines with a melancholy undertone to work as a contrasting balance. Through Tenfold’s singing and guitar-playing, it is easy to trace her musical style back to her influences, which include The Tallest Man on Earth and Laura Marling. 

They may not be related by blood, but they are musical kinsmen rubbing shoulders with the sounds of The Band, CCR, The Rolling Stones and Otis Redding. Swampy grooves, dirty roots and high-energy rock & roll, making adulterous eyes at blues, gospel and Sixties rock.

Every day, except Tuesday 8 August, you can have dinner with the artists at the Josephkwartier. The dinners are inked to visiting a specific show. With a maximum of eight guests you join some of the members of the day’s company for dinner and conversation at a big table in the courtyard. This is the third year of these dinner sessions. An encounter that offers a tried-and-tested mix of sharing food and thoughts. It’s okay to talk with your mouth full. Either before or after the dinner you will visit the show made by the artists at your table.

Please note: due to the nature of this format (talk), Dinner with the artists is not suitable for the deaf or hard of hearing.

In cities across Europe, United Cowboys creates new biotopes every time that become temporary homes for dancers, performers and musicians. After a while the Cowboys pack up and move on. Performers join the tableau de la troupe, others they leave. Match, for instance, resembles the fairy tale The Golden Goose: Grimm for the year 2017, meandering here and there, without a home.
A grim prospect? It can be. United Cowboys is intense, exhausting, all the way. But also exquisitely soft, like downy feathers. The extremes are united in Match whose dancers, performers and musicians come so close you can feel their breath. Visitors walk around inside the live installation to put their viewing codes to the test.
At Boulevard 2015 and 2016 the company from Eindhoven took the festival by storm with Burn and This is not a Sad song, two uncompromising shows about the mania that is life.

Concept: Maarten van der Put, Pauline Roelants
performed and danced by: internationale cast van dansers en performers verbonden aan United Cowboys en m.m.v. De Gelukzoekers uit ’s-Hertogenbosch
a coproduction of Theaterfestival Boulevard with Grec Festival Barcelona

Curated by Wild Vlees, the Beeldenstorm (Iconoclast) route takes audiences to four visual art installations/ performances/works of art: I’m not here says the void by Julian Hetzel and Reborn by Pleun van Dijk, plus An
incomplete life and Apocalypse: The second horse by Wild Vlees.

On Monday the 7th of August a guest in Tafelen met makers at 17:30.

On Tuesday the 8th of August a guest to the Openluchtgesprek at 15:30.

We embrace the void to avoid the emptiness. Julian Hetzel [Baden-Württemberg, 1981] cannot get enough of this paradox. His performance I’m Not Here Says The Void deals with 21st-century boredom, loneliness and fear of touch. Among talking curtains [sic], a sensitive sofa that responds to tip-touch and dancing foil two performers create a dark, confusing universe. Theatre, dance, visual art and electronic minimal music are our guides.
With his visual work Julian Hetzel is conquering festivals across Europe. Not for the faint-hearted: I’m Not Here Says The Void asks visitors to recognise that reality is only a fabrication by the observer.

directed by: Julian Hetzel
choreographed by: Michele Rizzo
performed by: Claudio Rietvelt, Julian Hetzel
under curatorship of Proud Flesh
a coproduction with Spring festival, Spielart Festival Munich, Theater der Welt Mannheim and Brut Wien

Fun with a chemistry set, that is De Werfplaats #2. You won’t be able to predict the reactions – hissing, binding, explosions. During Boulevard, directors, actors, playwrights, composers and musicians will be working in groups on interventions or plays. The artists haven’t met before. Every few days they will be swinging open the doors to their studios to show audiences what is happening. Festival Cement is creating this second edition of De Werfplaats – which premiered during their own festival – at the request of Boulevard. Coen Cornelis, a writer who participated in De Werfplaats #1: “It is an opportunity to prove Sartre wrong. It’s not hell that’s other people; it’s heaven.”

TAALDORST tells the true story of the Piano man. On an ordinary Thursday, a man appears from the sea near the English city of Sheerness. The man does not speak. His identity is unknown. He simply plays the piano. All people of Sheerness are full of commotion and excitement. The media explodes. Everyone falls under the spell of the silent man. Who is this man and what is he up to? What secrets does he keep? What about his past? Where is he from? What is his plan?

Molenaar means miller, and Sabine is feeling like she is being ground down. She would love to escape the whirlwind of letters, pixels, sounds and stimuli. But it’s all swirling before her mind’s eye. In Almost Alive, her third solo, Sabine Molenaar [Roosendaal, 1985] she is leaving reality further behind than before and going deeper. Into that one, gapingly empty space, where it’s dark. Where rest and comfort await – but chaos and disorientation lurk.

Almost Alive is a string of transformations in visuals, moods, physical sensations and energy. Sabine Molenaar’s movement vocabulary is extremely physical and rich in imagery, to add to the intrigue. What is that creature being born there on the wet floor, smelling of wet earth: man, moloch or mystery?

choreographed & performed by: Sabine Molenaar

a coproduction with Festival Cement and DansBrabant

Speak Up is a program of works for saxophone which are connected to the spoken word - quoting speech, remixing it, or finding musical ways to suggest it without ever speaking aloud. The program begins with Wim Hendrickx’s, “On the Road,” a serene ode to the joy of open spaces. Then, Perry Goldstein’s “Total Absorption” looks inward, with an intense stream-of-consciousness monologue. Kevin Clark’s, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” begins with youthful fire and a toe-tapping groove, then pivots sharply, blending music and theatre to lay bare the innermost struggles of a man hollowed out by his uncertainties. “God Bless the Child,” as arranged by Eric Dolphy, is similarly two-faced; alternately recalling the sweet, mournful words sung by Billy Holiday and lashing out in rage at the injustice contained in those words. Jacob ter Veldhuis’s “Grab It” explores a similar rage in the words of men languishing in prison for their crimes, but ultimately transforms that rage into a new determination to live with joy and abandon. Lastly, with this “Carpe Diem” frame of mind, the audience is invited to cut loose with a new arrangement of Parliament’s funky party anthem, “Night of the Thumpasorus Peoples.”

We all want to go home

Little words become big pains

There’s a silence in my head

Like a fool, I keep my mouth shut

Before I say something wrong

Little me is running fast, there's no time for me to think

I wrote it all, but nobody said a word

Why would we load our guns to kill?

Why should we let people in this pain?

We all want to go home, in a safe world

We all want to be free

Little drops are falling down

From my cheeks to my neck, to the ground

My heart is locked, but there’s no key

To the freedom that I need

Why would we load our guns to kill?

Why should we let people in this pain?

We all want to go home, in a safe world

We all want to be free

We all want to go home, in a safe world

We all want to be free

Could it ever be?

Sun-drenched Americana, vintage soul, psychedelic pop, futuristic Latin jazz and little nuggets of Seventies rock and funk. You name it: these six cosmic night riders from Rotterdam will not be caught in any hype. Timeless retro.

You can do anything you like. Headbang while sucking
a pacifi er. Stage dive with a sippycup. Pogo with all
the puppy power your tiny body can muster. Singer and
presenter Jelle Amersfoort (Warnsveld, 1980) and his live
band are giving the best-known and most fun children’s
songs a coat of pop. Wonderful! One more reason
to party: this is their tenth Children’s pop concert at
Boulevard! Old rockers? Mick Jagger, now he’s old.

Set in a field with dozens of tiny speakers, music theatre makers Karlijn Hamer [vocals] and Mathijs de Valk [electronics] create a single-tone concert, designed to offer comfort. Every tone is a life that comes and goes. ZOG is in its research phase, so prick up your guinea pig ears.

concept and play: Karlijn Hamer and Mathijs de Valk

The winners of the Kunstbende, Popsport Brabant and Festival 39degrees contests will be roaming the festivals this summer. They’re out to get you. Using their language, theatre, dance and music skills. For those who haven’t heard of them: Kunstbende is the hotbed for artists aged 13 - 19. Popsport Brabant is a nationwide coaching programme for talented young musicians. Festival 39Graden offers promising creatives aged 15 -21 a chance to perform in front of bigger audiences.

BOULEVARDROUTE (Language no problem)

The dance route of Theaterfestival Boulevard, includes a three-course dinner with drinks, the beautiful performance of the Burkinian dance company Faso Danse Théâtre and everything you can wish around it. Afterwards there is the possibility to have a dance on the festival square.

The programme:

Price € 77,50

America’s A Horse with No Name has been played 64,122, 538 times on Spotify. That’s 256,490,152 horses’ hoofs trotting to freedom. Will you stumble? The Flemish dance company Kabinet K will show you how to get back in the saddle. In Horses eight dancers – two grown-ups and six children – form a jumble that grows into a series of touching duets. Grownup and child. Child and child. Who is the rider? Who is the horse? Across a landscape made from bricks, rope and a piece of canvas they are going in search of the answers.
Horses is warm, seething, playful. A dream that moves at a gallop and tackles vulnerability, wanting to be grownup, wanting to be small. An energetic plea for caring, for freedom. So let’s ride together, Kabinet K’s dance says. Toward freedom. For the 64,122,539th time.

There are free shuttle busses available from the festivalsquare to the location of the show. These busses leave half an hour before the show starts. 

choreographed by: Joke Laureyns & Kwint Manshoven
danced by: Jacob Ingram-Dodd, Evelyne Rossie, Kwint Manshoven, Jitte Schoukens, Mona De Broe, Lio Maelfeyt, Judith Ginvert, Suza De Gryse/Louisa Vermeire

coproduced by TAKT & STUK

His headquarters on the outskirts of Lagos were a nightclub, temple and revolutionary incubator all in one. ‘Kalakuta Republik,’ Fela Kuti named his palatial home, which also featured a public hospital. In February 1977 the Nigerian government had it burned down. Twenty years later Kuti died from an aids-related illness.
The inspiration for this dance show is Fela Kuti, political activist and founder of the Afrobeat. And yet, Kalakuta Republik is not a danced biography, nor is it music hall. Rather, it is a high-energy show about Africa as part of a globalising world and a spirited research into what artistic engagement can bring about.  
The Belgian-Burkinabe choreographer Serge Aimé Coulibaly [Bobo-Dioulasso, 1972] has developed a movement vocabulary for the four women and three men who are regaining ground in Kalakuta Republik. He himself acts as a storyteller/master of ceremony. Coulibaly has worked with Alain Platel, Sidi-Larbi Cherkaoui and others. After a series of performances at Festival d’Avignon Kalakuta Republik will travel to Boulevard.

Combiticket on Wednesday the 9th of August: The Act of Dying by de polen and Kalakuta Republik by Faso Danse Theatre/ Serge Aimee Coulibaly. Together for € 34,- / € 32,- Friends.

On Wednesday the 9th of August as a guest in the Openluchtgesprek at 15:30.

choreographed & narrated by Serge Aimé Coulibaly
danced by: Antonia Naouele, Marion Alzieu, Adonis Nébié, Sayouba Sigué, Ahmed Soura, Ida Faho
music + DJ-ing by: Yvan Talbot

Dolphinariums everywhere, eat your hearts out! On 8 August these dolphins won’t be splashing about in your chlorine basins; they will be soaked in beer and club-house beats. At Boulevard, where they belong.
As a special treat for our festival, the eight-man collective around the Flemish actors/musicians Wim Opbrouck [Bavikhove, 1969] and Wim Willaert [Nieuwpoort, 1967] will be reinforced by eight more musicians. The result: powerful rock & roll and gravelly vocals, but also funk, punk, tear-jerkers, noise, polka, disco, jazz and blues – a mix that is sure to get your solar plexus dancing. The instrumental heart of De Dolfijntjes is formed by two battered but still powerful accordions from Taiwan.

Harold K 'short stories in true Limburgs' (a dialect from the south of The Netherlands). The songs of Harold K are catchy short stories in real Limburgs. He sings from the heart and soul and he dares to come close.

A royal gang of radicalised rockers- in the cheerful sense: these four dudes from The Hague are dragging you into the musical hollow they have created for themselves to revive the Sixties. Flange, guitar and organ riffs, melodious basslines, swinging drums, shout & harmony.

She is exciting. She is intoxicating. She is erotic. In The winner takes it all power is given a face, a body, a voice. She comes up close, flirts with you and disappears. Only briefly – she’ll be back. In this tragi-comical dance show, the five women in the physical theatre company MAN || CO (pronounced as Manco) explore the embodiment of power. What moves the people in power? And how does that work? Do winners have a body language all of their own?

concept en uitvoering: MAN || CO

decor en kostuums: Sanne Lips

muziek: Daniël van Loenen

foto’s: Anne Beentjes

Flyer en poster: Emile Feij
productionele en zakelijk leiding: Jonnie & Roos Theaterzaken

Everything is energy, according to hip hop dancer and choreographer Shailesh Bahoran [Nickerie, 1983]. His fascination with combustion – from matches to the electric impulses that trigger all of his 640 muscles – is featured in this dance solo, Ignite. 

Shailesh has worked with companies such as Het Nationale Ballet and Don’t Hit Mama. Now he is part of ISH. His fabulous technique, originality and power of expression guarantee his audience will have a great time. Ignite is a show that puts a spark in a barrel of gun powder.

performed by: Shailesh Bahoran, Roche Apinsa, Virgil Dey, Remses Rafaela, Wesley Rommy, Eddy Vidal, Tyrone Menig (understudy)

With Olympic ambition, Club Gewalt is taking a whiff of magnesium, taking a big leap and clambering up using the flying-rings. Like an Icarus with a death wish. On wax wings like in the old days? Oh nothing like that: Yuri is right here, right now.
In this work-out opera Club Gewalt traces the tumultuous career of the famous gymnast from ‘s-Hertogenbosch Yuri van Gelder. With a compassionate eye this company shows that life is a chain reaction of random events. Escape? The pumping electro-beat track these Rotterdammers have chosen leaves you no option but to follow: immer gerade aus.
"This is opera as a workout. Tight, formal, easy on the ears." [Volkskrant}

featuring: Annelinde Bruijs, Loulou Hameleers, Suzanne Kipping, Robbert Klein, Gerty Van de Perre, Amir Vahidi and Sanna ElonVrij
directed by: Mara van Vlijmen

BOULEVARDROUTE (in Dutch)

Sports theatre: It exists. You will see Yuri van Gelder (a famous Dutch gymnast) as you have never seen before, have a delicious two-course dinner, and as a treat you go to the beloved Studio ORKA with their location show Chasse Patate, with a surprisingly sporty twist.

The programme:

Price: € 65

Every day, except Tuesday 8 August, you can have dinner with the artists at the Josephkwartier. The dinners are linked to visiting a specific show. With a maximum of eight guests you join some of the members of the day’s company for dinner and conversation at a big table in the courtyard. This is the third year of these dinner sessions. An encounter that offers a tried-and-tested mix of sharing food and thoughts. It’s okay to talk with your mouth full.
Either before or after the dinner you will visit the show made by the artists at your table.

Please note: due to the nature of this format (talk), Dinner with the artists is not suitable for the deaf or hard of hearing.

He’s six years old, the boy in the backseat. He’s in tears. “The planet is gonna be wrecked”, Henry Marr from Mount Vernon [Washington] sobs. He has stammered his indictment 281.834 times on YouTube. Jerky images, his mother is filming. Henry’s worry: grownups are destroying our world.

And he is not alone. In Hallo dampkring (Hello Atmosphere) a brave little children’s choir demands an explanation. About felling trees. Air pollution. Global warming. A choir of grownups is held to account. How does a carefully sung apology in A flat sound? An argument in F sharp? Lex Bohlmeijer wrote the lyrics to  Hallo dampkring after talking to children on the island of Terschelling. A topical and melodic conversation by Theater Artemis.

There are free shuttle busses available from the festivalsquare to the location of the show. These busses leave half an hour before the show starts. 

conceived by: Liesbet Swings

directed by: Jetse Batelaan

written by: Lex Bohlmeijer

music by: Keimpe De Jong

performers/singers: children from 's-Hertogenbosch

On the subject of cartoon characters the Slovenian philosopher Žižek said: “They know neither death, sexuality, nor suffering. You can cut them into pieces, but they will get up like it was nothing.” The quote challenged three actors to die as cheerful non-human characters in The Act of Dying. By stepping into the shoes of these animated figures they hope to find the ultimate liberation: to resurrect after a violent death.
A physical, wordless show in which the slow and deeply religious Third Symphonie by the Polish composer Henryk Górecki [1933-201] locks horns with the boisterous cartoon world of wham, splash & kaboom. The show is a probing and hilarious reflection on death and violence in our society.
De polen is a young company set up by Bosse Provoost, Kobe Chielens, Lieselotte De Keyzer and Geert Belpaeme. At Bolulevard 2016 Bosse Provoost [Ghent, 1993] performed the celebrated Moore Bacon!

Performed by: Bosse Provoost, Kobe Gielens and Lieselotte De Keyzer

Last year 101,000 Dutch nationals went on cruise holidays. In March 2017 the members of the Rotterdam-based theatre collective Wunderbaum also embarked. As part of their preparations for Superleuk, maar voortaan zonder mij (Great fun, but next time I’ll pass) they all took jobs as entertainers at sea.

The theme of this show is the growing inequality. Wunderbaum is struck by the rapid development of parallel worlds, each with its own walls and mores. The cruise ship is an example of a gated community, a place to be among like-minded people. The creed on board: death by entertainment.

Superleuk, maar voortaan zonder mij is an adaptation of the essay A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again from 1997. The American cult writer David Foster Wallace, who took his own life in 2008, wrote it after taking a cruise in the Caribbean. Aside: the shipping company never extended their contract with Wunderbaum. Boulevard takes this as a compliment for which it is happy to haul out the gangplank.

Combiticket on Saturday the 12th of August: Superleuk, maar voortaan zonder mij by Wunderbaum and A room for all our tomorrows by Igor & Moreno. Together for € 31,- / € 29,- Friends.

On Thursday the 10th of August as a guest in Tafelen met makers at 17:00.

On Friday the 11th of August as a guest to the Openluchtgesprek at 15:30.

There are free shuttle busses available from the festivalsquare to the location of the show. These busses leave half an hour before the show starts. 

performed by: Maartje Remmers, Wine Dierickx, Marleen Scholten, Walter Bart, Matijs Jansen

When it ends, the crows will come. That’s for sure. Oh and also, someone you may have lost a long time ago. They’re also coming. But you’re up fi rst, grownup. You enter a secret place where children lead their lives, hovering between dream and reality. Battered souls, they are, and they are inviting you to a ritual performance. In The crow knows where the children go – which is performed by sixteen children from the province of Brabant – Alexandra Broeder (Rotterdam, 1978) offers a new exploration of the relationship and balance of power between children and adults. A stream of
consciousness about childhood, intoxication and crows. For they will come. There’s no escaping it.

Note: The crow knows where the children go is a show for grownups.

There are free shuttle busses available from the festivalsquare to the location of the show. These busses leave half an hour before the show starts. 

conceived & directed by: Alexandra Broeder

performed by: Marieke van Baaren, Minne Cleven, Casper van Deventer, Linne van den Diepstraten, Benz Dovern, Marit van Eijk, Lise Gerritsen, Finn van Lonkhuijsen, Nash van Rijzingen, Nadine Roffel, Lidewij Scholten, Tom Schut, Lucas Siljée, Djinn Fee van der Velden, Danique van de Ven, Nanne de Wolf

Falling down and getting up, a random happening, at the right moment, at the right place. Hard to understand how or why we got here. Accept and continue. Sometimes keep lying down. The will in a fragmented series of events. Together, we fall. Together, we get up.

Radically honest, contrary in form, raw yet delicate. These are the words used by the jury of the 2015 André Gingras Award – the bravery prize for choreographers who take artistic risks – to describe the work of Guilherme Miotto [Brazil, 1979]. Even Worse is a confirmation that he is in a league of his own.
The choreography sees three striking dancers from the scenes of urban and contemporary dance escape themselves. Time and again they are caught; time and again Miotto dares them to free themselves. Who is the jailer: the mind or the body?
Shane Boers, Simon Bus and Evangelos Biskas each come from different dance backgrounds – from contemporary theatre dance to cutting edge, breakdance and experimental. Dancers? True, but in Even Worse they are young men first: laidback, yet edgy; ordinary guys at first glance, but with virtuoso motor skills; recognisable in their obsessions and loneliness.

choreographed by: Guilherme Miotto
danced by: Shane Boers, Simon Bus and Evangelos Biskas

A coproduction of DansBrabant and Podium Bloos with financial aid of Breda

Evolution never ceases to amaze. Presumably, celebrity Sven Ratzke [Nijmegen, 1977] is a descendent of the chameleon. For more than 25 years he has been effortlessly adopting the sounds and colours of his musical heroes, while retaining his authenticity.

For his theatre concert Homme fatale the diva draws on Falco, Grace Jones, David Bowie, Moloko, the Scissor Sisters and their theatrical acts. It results in an extravaganza of catchy pop songs and stand-up routines in which he showcases his love of vicious humour. The eccentric Sven Ratzke is unsurpassed in style, music and entertainment.

For those who have awoken from a 25-year coma and haven’t been back to Boulevard until now: you are right, in the early nineties Ratzke’s performance made the angels of St. John’s Cathedral blush with excitement, singing Lieder von Huren und armen Mädchen and chansons by Fassbinder and Kurt Weill. He now returns with the very finest disco and dance heroes.

The feestbazaar.nl website offers 51 ‘native American’ outfits. From a three-piece Blackfoot costume to a Squaw Eagle outfit and a sexy Cherokee dress. Yes, we were all wounded – even those of us who never went to Wounded Knee. But we can be healed by visiting Indiaan. In this theatrical ode to tribal living, a group of performers from De Hotshop, all in their twenties, retreat to a small patch of nature and try to find meaning. In rhythms and smoke signals, in tree bark and Creation narratives. They scan their conscience and their most passionate desires. A tribe is born thanks to De Hotshop, the cool branch of De Warme Winkel, playing Indians and putting up top performances.
For those who feel prompted to post glowing reports on Twitter, the following hashtags will help: #ayawaska #zonderviezebijsmaak #poca #dakotapeplijntje #riverdeepmountainhigh4real #bizonkit #kevin #costner.

There are free shuttle busses available from the festivalsquare to the location of the show. These busses leave half an hour before the show starts. 

Combiticket on Thursday the 10th of August: Hallo dampkring by Theater Artemis/ Liesbet Swings and Indiaan by De Hotshop cooler dan De Warme Winkel. Together for € 29,- / € 27,- Friends.

On Saturday the 12th of August a guest in Tafelen met makers at 17:30.

On Thursday the 10th of August as a guest to the Openluchtgesprek at 15:30.

idea Vincent Brons & Anneke Sluiters

performed by Vincent Brons, Anne Fé de Boer, Joke Emmers, Tarik Moree (stage), Len Pillen (stage)

directed by Mara van Vlijmen

trajectory supervisor Vincent Rietveld
lights Prem Scholte Albers

dramaturgy assistent Lena Meijer (stage)

production coordination Carry Hendriks 

production Yvonne Guis

technical coordination H.P. Hulscher 
technics Manuel Boutreur
business supervisor Silvie Dees 

marketing & publicity Sanne van de Kraats

planning & sales Marloes Marinussen
office management Thomas Vandewalle 
special thanks to Sebastiaan Smink

The Flemish collective Tibaldus, which consists of three unstoppable actors, have taken the play Yvonne [1935] by the Polish avant-gardist Gombrowicz and soaked it in nitric acid. It didn’t even flinch. Tibaldus is performing this unsettling fairytale about Yvonne, ugly as sin, in collaboration with four other actors. When Prince Flip falls in love with her, he is mocked by his family and the court. But slowly Yvonne gets beneath the skin of the self-satisfied elite. By remaining silent she makes an entire kingdom falter. It leads to such upheaval that only a horrific act can bring peace.
Director Timeau De Keyser [1988] has turned Yvonne, Prinses van Bourgondië (Yvonne, Princess of Burgundy) into a fascinating and gripping play, bursting with laughter, and performed with gusto and imagination.

directed by: Timeau De Keyser
performed by: Simon De Winne, Hans Mortelmans, Lieselotte De Keyzer, Eva Binon, Ferre Marnef, Benjamin Cools, David Van Dijcke.

a coproduction with TONEELHUIS

Heralding from the shire, Richard Cejer was, from an early age, driven by music, thanks to a combination of long euro road trips and his parent's eclectic car mixtapes. He sang Wonderwall in front of his cousins one time in '95 and knew immediately that he was on to something. With guitar heavy melodies and an ongoing desire for pristine harmonic flows, Richard, currently based in the Netherlands, creates experiences that range from desperate woe to complete joy, yet, while maintaining a variety of genre. Richard has spent the last few years composing a massive back catalogue of material. His next step is to release a series of EPS, the first of which will be available via a number of platforms before the end of 2017. He has played in a variety of cities around his native UK (London, Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, Peterborough, Lincoln) and the Netherlands (Amsterdam, Utrecht, Groningen, Haarlem, Almere, Den Haag), whilst supporting a wide range of acts e.g. Less Than Jake, Zebrahead, High Hazels and many more. Richard has received support from heavy hitting institutions, such as BBC via their highly regarded Introducing concept.

A young band from Brussels, named after Edgar Allan Poe’s famous poem about love and death. Garage pop with gravelly influences from grunge and punk. Emo? On the contrary: sunny & catchy! Check Best Good Friend by Annabel Lee on YouTube.

Sorrow is real, just listen to a Stabat Mater. Countless composers, from Pergolesi and Scarlatti to Schubert and Dvořák, have given voice to the 13th-century poem about Mary weeping for her son who has been crucified. A total of around 250 Stabat Maters have been composed, each with its own distinct character.
Music is not the only form of solace, as the international dance project Stabat Mater proves. In 2016 the Italian festival Bassano del Grappa invited female choreographers to create Stabat Maters for church settings. During Boulevard you can see three dance pieces in churches and chapels across ‘s-Hertogenbosch: two from Bassano 2016, including Icône Pop by Mélanie Demers [Montréal, 1974], Yoko Higashino [Sakurai, 1972], and a new part by choreographer Hilde Elbers [Venray, 1979] who has danced with T.r.a.s.h., Conny Janssen, Itzik Galili and Constanza Macras.

choreographed by: Melanie Demers, Hilde Elbers and Yoko Higashino
a coproduction with Bassano del Grappa and DansBrabant

Sorrow is real, just listen to a Stabat Mater. Countless composers, from Pergolesi and Scarlatti to Schubert and Dvořák, have given voice to the 13th-century poem about Mary weeping for her son who has been crucified. A total of around 250 Stabat Maters have been composed, each with its own distinct character.
Music is not the only form of solace, as the international dance project Stabat Mater proves. In 2016 the Italian festival Bassano del Grappa invited female choreographers to create Stabat Maters for church settings. During Boulevard you can see three dance pieces in churches and chapels across ‘s-Hertogenbosch: two from Bassano 2016, including Icône Pop by Mélanie Demers [Montréal, 1974], Yoko Higashino [Sakurai, 1972], and a new part by choreographer Hilde Elbers [Venray, 1979] who has danced with T.r.a.s.h., Conny Janssen, Itzik Galili and Constanza Macras.

choreographed by: Melanie Demers, Hilde Elbers and Yoko Higashino
A coproduction of Bassano del Grappa and DansBrabant

The ugly duckling, but set in a ditch filled with contemporary frog-jelly. That, in a nutshell, is Eendje, a solo performance in which Kim van Zeben [Utrecht, 1976] intertwines music with theatre, mime and puppetry. In her cheerful and touching ode to the outsider she proves that not belonging is not all bad. Kim came to Boulevard before and has performed in the musicals Minoes and Jip en Janneke.

performed and written by: Kim van Zeben
directed and written by: Marije Gubbels

Vormgeving: Marlies Schot
music by: Kim van Zeben, Timon Koomen en Keez Groenteman

There they are, lying in their Victorian prams. Fresh oogly-booglies, uprooted only this morning: newly born parsnips, crying little carrots. The proud Vegetable Nannies like to show off their offshoots who seem to be teeming. Couldn’t you just eat them? –– well you can’t. But festival goers will be given the opportunity to become friends with the veggies.

In Plunge Boom's ‘make and take’ workshop, families drop-in and make their own vegetable baby to take home. Children carefully select a vegetable, then after choosing a costume and a pair of eyes, they take a seat at a work bench and start imagining and creating their character, guided by the very experienced Vegetable Nannies on hand.

Once made, children fill in their vegetable baby’s birth certificate, before being ceremoniously registered as a ‘Junior Vegetable Nanny’ and awarded their official identity lanyard to wear straight away and take home along with their very own Vegetable Baby.

According to the myth, Pandora couldn’t contain her curiosity and opened a barrel that held all the sickness and woe in the world. Ever since then, life has been a struggle – although the one thing left inside was hope. Katja Heitmann [Hamburg, 1987] wonders what Pandora’s barrel/box/cloud looks like today. What is the meaning of adversity and hope in our society that is so preoccupied with control and prevention? And what does a modern Pandora, the flawless human, look like?
In the movement performance Pandora’s Dropbox six dancers are on a mission to keep the balance at all times. Can a human become a perfect machine? Or is hyper-control not enough to stop the flow of sweat, tears and other traces of humanity?
Pandora’s DropBox is a serene but alarming search for the limits of our control.

There are free shuttle busses available from the festivalsquare to the location of the show. These busses leave half an hour before the show starts. 

concept: Katja Heitmann, Sander van der Schaaf
choreography: Katja Heitmann
performers: Eleni Ploumi, Celine Werkhoven, Tommy Pham, Lorenzo Capodieci, Anna Zurkirchen, Merle Schiebergen, Hannah Rogerson, Wies Berkhout
a coproduction with: DansBrabant, SPRING Festival, tanzhaus-nrw

Every day, except Tuesday 8 August, you can have dinner with the artists at the Josephkwartier. The dinners are inked to visiting a specific show. With a maximum of eight guests you join some of the members of the day’s company for dinner and conversation at a big table in the courtyard. This is the third year of these dinner sessions. An encounter that offers a tried-and-tested mix of sharing food and thoughts. It’s okay to talk with your mouth full. Either before or after the dinner you will visit the show made by the artists at your table.

Please note: due to the nature of this format (talk), Dinner with the artists is not suitable for the deaf or hard of hearing.

Every day, except Tuesday 8 August, you can have dinner with the artists at the Josephkwartier. The dinners
are linked to visiting a specific show. With a maximum of eight guests you join some of the members of the day’s company for dinner and conversation at a big table in the courtyard. This is the third year of these dinner sessions. An encounter that offers a tried-and-tested mix of sharing food and thoughts. It’s okay to talk with your mouth full. Either before or after the dinner you will visit the show made by the artists at your table.

Please note: due to the nature of this format (talk), Dinner with the artists is not suitable for the deaf or hard of hearing.

Sorrow is real, just listen to a Stabat Mater. Countless composers, from Pergolesi and Scarlatti to Schubert and Dvořák, have given voice to the 13th-century poem about Mary weeping for her son who has been crucified. A total of around 250 Stabat Maters have been composed, each with its own distinct character.

Music is not the only form of solace, as the international dance project Stabat Mater proves. In 2016 the Italian festival Bassano del Grappa invited female choreographers to create Stabat Maters for church settings. During Boulevard you can see three dance pieces in churches and chapels across ‘s-Hertogenbosch: two from Bassano 2016, including Icône Pop by Mélanie Demers [Montréal, 1974], Yoko Higashino [Sakurai, 1972], and a new part by choreographer Hilde Elbers [Venray, 1979] who has danced with T.r.a.s.h., Conny Janssen, Itzik Galili and Constanza Macras.

dance

Dutch premiere

choreographed by: Melanie Demers, Hilde Elbers and Yoko Higashino

A coproduction with Bassano del Grappa and DansBrabant 

Café and chip shop De Sportvriend in Belzele is languishing. Even barflies are ignoring it. But still, its patrons Alice and her brother Jules are sticking to their guns. Their only punter is the bullied school teacher Daan a.k.a. the big baboon. The place is a sinkhole. Nothing will stand upright in this no man’s land. But they’ve got each other. That is, until Ulrike appears, clad in cycling gear.

In the richly imagined tragicomedy Chasse Patate these gnarled mortals try to hold their own while the ground beneath their feet grows squidgy. This family show is a layered declaration of love to all the dreamers, the fighters and to lukewarm beer. The Flemish company by Studio ORKA excels at showcasing the human capacity for comfort. A warm embrace. Best show of the year, according to De Standaard.

There are free shuttle busses available from the festivalsquare to the location of the show. These busses leave half an hour before the show starts. 

directed and performed by: Philippe Van de Velde, Martine Decroos, Dominique Van Malder, Julie Delrue, Titus De Voogdt, Janne Desmet

music: Wim Deliveyne, Peter De Bosschere, Luc Waegeman
shape: Philippe Van de Velde, Kwint Manshoven 

decor: Philippe Van de Velde, Kwint Manshoven, Kris Van Oudenhove, Stef Decoster, Niels Ieven, Bart Van Bellegem, Bram Rombouts, Kobe Vandenberghe
coach: Peter Monsaert
production: Maarten Naessens, Famke Dhont, Isabelle Vermeulen, Karen Van De Voorde
costumes: Maartje Van Bourgognie, Elise Goedgezelschap
technics: Lorin Duquesne
thanks to: Mieke Versyp, Familie Claes
coproduction: Ruhrtriennale – Festival of the Art, NTGent, Theaterfestival Boulevard en C-mine.
with support of: Vlaamse Overheid, Stad Gent, Provincie Oost-Vlaanderen.  

Early this century Arnon Grunberg [Amsterdam, 1971] wrote his De Mensheid zij geprezen Humanity be praised), a contemporary The Praise of Folly. The opening line: “No beast has been slandered as much as man.” In the book  the accused, humanity, addresses sourpusses, half-baked intellectuals, confused philosophers and degenerate novelists. Grunberg readily admits: humanity IS greedy, lecherous, violent and spineless. But, he retorts, it has no other option.
Josse De Pauw [Asse, 1952] however, strongly suspects Grunberg of humiliating humanity in his pamphlet. Which is why he is literally putting the author on the stand. Soprano Claron McFadden [New York, 1961] is lending ridiculed humanity her voice. Will Grunberg be able to clear himself of the charges?
De Mensheid is part 2 of De Pauw’s trilogy/triphony. Boulevard is also presenting part 1 – cf. left page. These are stand-alone plays that can be enjoyed independently.

There are free shuttle busses available from the festivalsquare to the location of the show. These busses leave half an hour before the show starts. 

conceived & directed by: Josse De Pauw

music: Henry Purcell, Claron McFadden, Kris Defoort

text: Arnon Grunberg

text editing: Mark Schaevers

performed by: Josse De Pauw, Arnon Grunberg

vocals (improvisation): Claron McFadden

piano (improvisation): Kris Defoort

lights & stage: Eric Soyer

stage: KVS atelier

canvas: Anne Marcq

costumes: Greta Goiris

costume assistent: Claudine Grinwis Plaat Stultjes

technics: Brecht Beuselinck, Jannes Dierynck

video: Pascal Poissonnier

photo: Kurt Van der Elst

pr & communication: Magalie Lagae, Inge Jooris, Lien De Trogh

spread: Frans Brood Productions

head of production: Kristel Deweerdt

production: LOD muziektheater & KVS

coproduction: Le Manège Maubeuge, La Rose des Vents Villeneuve d’Ascq, Théâtre de Namur

Vic Willems tells stories. Personal stories, somewhere in the crosslines of sweet and furious and between ecstatic and insecure. In Dutch, he translates his feelings and experiences to songs. The songs are performed live, uncompromising and shameless. It leads to an intimate and intense sight, varied with stories about the experiences that lead to these songs. Intriguing bedroomfolk balancing between Spinvis and Eels.

Let’s rewind. To the late 1940s, early 1950s. To find American country-boogie, western-swing and rockabilly. Play now: The Barnstompers, swingbilly from the Netherlands. An export band? That’s right: they have performed in 14 European countries and across the USA on several occasions.

There he is. Lying there, unconscious, by the looks of it. Is he breathing?! What happened? Phone. Someone should call an ambulance! But whose phone? Does anyone here have any experience with this sort of thing? Or any kind of thing? What do you think his name is? Do you think it may have been something he ate? And if so, when did he eat it? De Omstanders (Bystanders) is a tragi-comical show about morbid curiosity around disasters. About the transitory nature of contact. About feeling like an amateur human being. About small-time anti-heroes.

performed by: Paméla Menzo, Carola Bärtschiger, Bas Jilesen and Stephan van Hesteren
conceived and directed by: Anne van Dorp

Do I pick a killer whale or a goldfish to float around in my inflatable pool? Do I want to be able to do a backward roll, or do I want wings, go to the moon, or become an inventor? Or do I want what others want? Can I eat the holes in the cheese?
Should I finish my fries before I can order a burger? Will I get gloves in summer or a bathing suit in winter?  
Choco of kaas? (Chocolate or cheese?) is an educational dance show that explores notions of choosing-wanting-being allowed-being obliged-getting and having and expresses them in movement and visuals. A playful and interactive show by the young Flemish theatre makers Dafne Maes & Danaé Bosman, who have joined forces and formed the company LAP.

conceived, choreographed & performed by: Dafne Maes & Danaé Bosman
directed by: Randi De Vlieghe
a coproduction with P2 Cultuurcentrum Hasselt and Theater a/h Vrijthof

Every day, except Tuesday 8 August, you can have dinner with the artists at the Josephkwartier. The dinners are inked to visiting a specific show. With a maximum of eight guests you join some of the members of the day’s
company for dinner and conversation at a big table in the courtyard. This is the third year of these dinner sessions. An encounter that offers a tried-and-tested mix of sharing food and thoughts. It’s okay to talk with your mouth full. Either before or after the dinner you will visit the show made by the artists at your table.

Please note: due to the nature of this format (talk), Dinner with the artists is not suitable for the deaf or hard of hearing.

In No More Earthquakes, the young circus artist Michiel Deprez is asking one performer – a different one every
night – to respond to a scene without any information beforehand. Nothing is expected of the guest performers.
Anything goes, except leaving the room.

Café and chip shop De Sportvriend in Belzele is languishing. Even barflies are ignoring it. But still, its patrons Alice and her brother Jules are sticking to their guns. Their only punter is the bullied school teacher Daan a.k.a. the big baboon. The place is a sinkhole. Nothing will stand upright in this no man’s land. But they’ve got each other. That is, until Ulrike appears, clad in cycling gear.

In the richly imagined tragicomedy Chasse Patate these gnarled mortals try to hold their own while the ground beneath their feet grows squidgy. This family show is a layered declaration of love to all the dreamers, the fighters and to lukewarm beer. The Flemish company by Studio ORKA excels at showcasing the human capacity for comfort. A warm embrace. Best show of the year, according to De Standaard.

There are free shuttle busses available from the festivalsquare to the location of the show. These busses leave half an hour before the show starts. 

directed and performed by: Philippe Van de Velde, Martine Decroos, Dominique Van Malder, Julie Delrue, Titus De Voogdt, Janne Desmet

music: Wim Deliveyne, Peter De Bosschere, Luc Waegeman
shape: Philippe Van de Velde, Kwint Manshoven 

decor: Philippe Van de Velde, Kwint Manshoven, Kris Van Oudenhove, Stef Decoster, Niels Ieven, Bart Van Bellegem, Bram Rombouts, Kobe Vandenberghe
coach: Peter Monsaert
production: Maarten Naessens, Famke Dhont, Isabelle Vermeulen, Karen Van De Voorde
costumes: Maartje Van Bourgognie, Elise Goedgezelschap
technics: Lorin Duquesne
thanks to: Mieke Versyp, Familie Claes
coproduction: Ruhrtriennale – Festival of the Art, NTGent, Theaterfestival Boulevard en C-mine.
with support of: Vlaamse Overheid, Stad Gent, Provincie Oost-Vlaanderen.  

Two women in relation to a specific, limited and constructed space.

A limitation of the space created by a tridimensional structure that reproduces the form of a tent; the skeleton of it.

As it has no walls it is like a house without roof. A contradiction.

A new relation between their bodies arises; in contact and contrast with the contradiction and the hardness of the metal structure.

Being; waiting; pulling; bumping; holding: the three of them being together or not.  

Maker and performer: Clara Cortés Soler and Martina Gunkel

Music composer: Julian Vogel

Credits: Fremdkörper, Pia Meuthen (coaching) 

Every era has its dark basement. The Walloon theatre maker Fabrice Murgia [Verviers, 1983] – newly appointed artistic director of the Théâtre National in Brussels – is taking you by your wary hand, down the steps and into the darkest vaults of the internet, a.k.a the Dark Web. Here you will find the so-called brouters, online fraudsters from the Ivory Coast. But also pedlars of fake passports, guns and organs. But above all, this is the domain of sex tourism.
In Black Clouds two Flemish actors and two from Senegal investigate the abrasive relations between the North and the South, Big Brother and the individual, male lovemongers and female yearners. A confrontational mosaic play about shifting boundaries, visible and invisible.

Combiticket on Friday the 11th of August: The crow knows where the children go by Alexandra Broeder and Black Clouds by Fabrice Murgia/ Theatre National. Together for € 37,- / € 35,- Friends.

On Saturday the 12th of August as a guest at the Openluchtgesprek om 15:30.

Were you born after 1993 (the year in which Internet saw the light)? Then you can buy your tickets with a 10 euro discount online (choose 'CJP-korting). Bring your ID to the show.

written and directed by: Fabrice Murgia
performed by: Valérie Bauchau, Fatou Hane, El Hadji Abdou Rahmane Ndiaye, François Sauveur

Line-up
Anne den Boer: vocals
Jelle Roozenburg: guitar
Rowan de Vos: keys
Bill Scott Mookhoek: bass
Rafael Schwiddessen: drums
Lisse Knaapen: backing vocals

A swinging eight-man ensemble that have crushed audiences at festivals like Jazz in Duketown, MadNes Festival and Breda Jazz Festival. Straight from the Fridge is a cool mix of pop, funk and soul. Take out and defrost.

BOULEVARDROUTE (Language no problem)

Lassus Grand Cru is a sprinkling music program featuring scabious French chansons, dance Italian luncheons and German drinking songs from Renaissance composer Orlandus Lassus. During the performance, the audience tastes well-liked wines that rely on the characteristic features of the songs and the European regions where Lassus lived. In this excellent arrangement we live, we taste and listen. Then we enjoy a serious three course dinner to take care of that inner person.

The programme:

Price € 86,50

KOBE is a collective set up by Nastaran Razawi Khorasani [Iran, 1987] and Davy Pieters [Heemstede, 1988]. The two actresses create hilarious performances that navigate happily between art and kitsch. Their defining characteristic: a bombastic, colourful and highly physical style. Contemporary phenomena and pop culture form their inspiration.
The KOBE Box is an intimate encounter between one spectator and three performers losing themselves in an intoxicating close-up dance performance. When does cheerfulness descend into horror? How long can we keep this up? What is this irresistible lure of the consumerist party crowd?

KOBE Box – performed by: Nastaran Razawi Khorasani, Davy Pieters, Tessa Moerkerken, Milou van Duijnhoven, Anne Fé de Boer, Isis Cabolet and others

music by: Jimi Zoet with KOBE

Together with Frank Allard and Aschwin van Leeuwen we're organizing a sign-language bar, in the bar across Theater aan de Parade. This sign-language bar will be hosted at the 12th of August from 15:00 p.m. During this day there are many different tentjesvoorstellingen (all our shows in tents) accessible for people with an auditory limitation! For some of them there is a sign language interpreter present. 

Sign-language bar on the 12th of August

Shows that include a sign language interpreter:
Club Gewalt – Yuri - a workout opera: 20:45
(€8 - buy your tickets at the sign-language bar)

Oscar Kocken & Démira – Jut: 16:30 en 21:45
(€6 - buy your tickets at the sign-language bar)

Nineties Productions – Autocue: 18:00
(€7 - buy your tickets at the sign-language bar)

Also good to visit (no sign-language interpreter present, all day)
Just Another Prophecy – Chasing Summer:
Part 2 (Ask for the handout at the cash register!)
(€6 - buy your tickets at the tent)

De Koude Kermis – De Omstanders
(€6 - buy your tickets at the tent)

Man || Co – The winner takes it all
(€6 - buy your tickets at the tent)

Two shipwrecked people, a man and a woman, stumble upon a plank that has washed up on shore, a tube and some rope. They are lured by a sea of imagination. Will they survive? Only if they trust each other. Le fin demain is a contemporary circus act full of laughter and optimism for our wonky times.

Über-sad: not qualified for the 2016 European Football Championships and no UEFA-cup in 2017. Thankfully Compagnie Vero Cendoya from Barcelona manages to soften the double blow for the fans. In their free open air extravaganza La Partida, five footballers, five dancers and a referee win the hearts of their audience.
The game they play is not a sad duel, as it turns out, but a sublimely choreographed show with slow motion, yellow cards and lucky goalies. A magnificent show with which Compagnie Vero Cendoya double-passes any grumpy football fiend. Score! La Partida is performed at the Beatrixpark on Kruiskampsingel, ‘s-Hertogenbosch-West. After attending a workshop, local youngsters will play an unforgettable part in La Partida.

There are free shuttle busses available from the festivalsquare to the location of the show. These busses leave half an hour before the show starts. 

The ear is a shell. It can hold music. Or wine. Which is convenient: Lassus Grand Cru is a music show sprinkled with risqué French chansons, jaunty Italian villanelles and German drinking songs, all by renaissance composer Orlandus Lassus [a.k.a. Di Lasso].
During the show the audience is offered select wines that do justice to the characteristics of the songs and the European regions where Lassus sojourned. Actor Stefaan Degand [Wevelgem, 1978] and countertenor Steve Dugardin [Ostend, 1964] – a wine connoisseur – entertain their guests with exquisite faits divers on hospitality, etiquette and manners.

There are free shuttle busses available from the festivalsquare to the location of the show. These busses leave half an hour before the show starts. 

She is seventeen. The knight in shining armour is coming, student life and partying await her, beyond that a dream job. But there’s also her parents. And her teacher. Her brother. The imam. The carreers counsellor.
In Zeventien (Seventeen) five young Muslim girls are in search of the best way to promote themselves. What are their dreams for the future, their fears, desires, doubts? The shows made by theatre maker Eva Line de Boer [Breda, 1988] deal with seeing and with being seen. Zeventien is the first in a series of Het Zuidelijk Toneel productions featuring non-professional actors. In 2016 Eva Line came to Boulevard with her show Dit gebeurt allemaal tegelijk (All of this is happening at once), which won her a BNG Bank New Theatre Makers award.

There are free shuttle busses available from the festivalsquare to the location of the show. These busses leave half an hour before the show starts. 

directed by: Eva Line de Boer
performed by: Seyda Bahadin, Elem Çilingir, Sanaz Mohammadi, Ayisha Siddiqi, Tugce Yavuz

Les Frères Troubouch could be the offspring of Astérix and Obélix. Big moustaches, ditto appetites. But why are they hunting for bicycles instead of boars? A hilarious show with singing, dancing, acrobatics, magic potion and Assurancetourix’ festive music.

Every day, except Tuesday 8 August, you can have dinner with the artists at the Josephkwartier. The dinners are inked to visiting a specific show. With a maximum of eight guests you join some of the members of the day’s company for dinner and conversation at a big table in the courtyard. This is the third year of these dinner sessions. An encounter that offers a tried-and-tested mix of sharing food and thoughts. It’s okay to talk with your mouth full.
Either before or after the dinner you will visit the show made by the artists at your table.

Please note: due to the nature of this format (talk), Dinner with the artists is not suitable for the deaf or hard of hearing.

Asuelto, or to translate it loosely ‘Let me go’, is a show about the things that make us human: life’s  contradictions. With the aid of two more performers the duo Candelaria Antelo and Arthur Bernard Bazin explore the struggle between the desire to merge and wanting to break free. A moving piece of dance theatre.

About fifteen minutes into this show you will start to shift uncomfortably in your seat. Because the language sounds like some forgotten dialect from Nagorno-Karabach; the movements look like a 3D-cryptogram. Until, the show suddenly takes a magnificent turn. Are we not drawn onward to new erA is a palindrome. Because while some believe in progress, others believe in its opposite. Some say the world is going to the dogs. Others call them doomsayers. Are we not drawn onward to new erA is more than just a sentence that reads backwards; it is also a moving, intricate mix of theatre, music, visual art and politics. Inspiration came from the Danish philosopher Kierkegaard: “Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.” The inevitable question when time comes to a tipping point: are our actions irreversible, or can they be undone?

Combiticket on Sunday the 13th of August: Zeventien by Eva Line de Boer/ Het Zuidelijk Toneel and Are we not drawn onward to a new erA by Ontroerend Goed. Together for € 28,- / € 26,- Friends.

On Sunday the 13th of August as a guest to the Openluchtgesprek at 15:30.

There are free shuttle busses available from the festivalsquare to the location of the show. These busses leave half an hour before the show starts. 

directed by: Alexander Devriendt
play: Angelo Tijssens, Charlotte de Bruyne, Jonas Vermeulen, Karolien de Bleser, Maria Dafneros, Vincent Dunoyer
muziek: Spectra Ensemble
a coproduction with Spectra Ensemble, De Vooruit Gent, Theatre Royal Plymouth, Adelaide Festival, Richard Jordan Productions

Dance performance Idiot-Syncrasy was a revelation at Boulevard 2016. Minimal modern dance, maximum dedication and honesty. In the sequel, A Room For All Our Tomorrows, Igor Urzelai [San Sebastian, 1983] and Moreno Solinas [Sardinia, 1987] explore those moments in daily life when harmony lets us down ruthlessly – say between a coffee break and dancing. What we are left with is a desire to scream and the hope that better days will come. “A work of considerable subtlety and intelligence with a strong emotional heart”, The Reviews Hub wrote, awarding A Room For All Our Tomorrows four stars. The show was also nominated for the British Dance Edition 2016. May this London-based duo find a spacious room.

Choreographed & danced by: Igor & Moreno

Call it a daydream that visualizes itself at nighttime. LUCA MADU is dark but intimate, dreamy but powerful. The band, which includes a cellist and a violist, creates an intimate and sometimes gloomy atmosphere. Nonstandard rhythmic patterns form the basis of their unique sound. This all is a successful combination with the serene as well as powerful vocals.

The second album by singer-songwriter Oskamp has become reality. 'Mooierd' sounds like a diary that gets its stories from the smell of spring and a bittersweet autumn. Twelve Dutch popsongs in an acoustic style, that will never get out of fashion. In 2015 Joost Oskamp presents his first Dutch album after an exciting and international musical adventure, in which the songwriter from Utrecht works with producer Todd Burke (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jack Johnshon) and performs in the opening act of pop icon Sia. This musical rollercoaster makes Joost realize that it's quite difficult to express the essence of a song in English. He decides to write his new material in his mother tongue. After the making of the album 'De Nieuwe Gezelligheid' Joost wants to get closer to the core, live as well as on record. Playing acoustic songs with his good friend Ferry van der Groep (People You Know, Sneakerfreak) turns out to be a succes. Their vocals and guitar-play bring extra colour and caracter to the show. At the start of 2016 they play at Grasnapolsky festival, after which the duo decides to work together on the second Oskamp album. The personal songs are about love, reflection and letting go.

This gang is responsible for the reinvention of the mariachi. The Mexican, Honduran, Cuban and Belgian band members strum their way from reggaeton to mariachi and back again taking in a bit of funk along the way. Viva la fiesta!

Every day, except Tuesday 8 August, you can have dinner with the artists at the Josephkwartier. The dinners are linked to visiting a specific show. With a maximum of eight guests you join some of the members of the day’s company for dinner and conversation at a big table in the courtyard. This is the third year of these dinner sessions. An encounter that offers a tried-and-tested mix of sharing food and thoughts. It’s okay to talk with your mouth full. Either before or after the dinner you will visit the show made by the artists at your table.

Please note: due to the nature of this format (talk), Dinner with the artists is not suitable for the deaf or hard of hearing.

The audiences watches two intriguing films. Sisters is a film about two girls in a ramshackle villa of lost elegance. Nightwatch is a portrait of a night watchman in a big city, who appears to be observing the two girls from his position. The two worlds never merge, yet the way the films are projected – simultaneously and dialogically – suggests there is a connection. Like in an abstract thriller, the suspense continues to rise.
Nightwatch is a joint project by Dimitri Verhulst [Aalst, 1972], famed author of novels such as The Misfortunates, the three-man band Too Noisy Fish – with members of the Flat Earth Society big band – and video artists Trisha De Cuyper and Jan Lapeire. The text, presented live by Dimitri Verhulst, is neither narrative nor interpretation. It is first and foremost an expression of the stumble-and-fall that is the human journey: halting, indecisive, yearning; attempting forever to connect, yet always relying on ourselves. Too Noisy Fish provide a sultry atmosphere with their soundtrack made up of film scores, jazz, improvisation and contemporary compositions.

text & spoken word: Dimitri Verhulst
featuring: Peter Vandenberghe [compositions, piano and keyboards], Kristof Roseeuw [double bass], Teun Verbruggen [drums and percussion]
video by: Trisha De Cuyper, Jan Lapeire

Eelke Ankersmit is the former frontman of band The Rag Trade, whose self-titled debut album was brimmed with songs about growing up and relationship issues. Reviews for the album were unanimously positive. It got the band a couple of live-performances on renowned Dutch national radio station 3FM as well as some festival gigs. After finishing his studies at the Conservatory of Amsterdam with a 9,5 (out of 10) for his graduation performance, it is was time for Eelke Ankersmit to continue his musical endeavours; this time on his own. The path leading up to the release of his solo debut already brought him a gig in the Main Concert Hall of reputable venue Paradiso in Amsterdam. Recently, Eelke won the Dutch pop song competition for singer-songwriters and (semi)acoustic acts, ‘Mooie Noten 2016’, focusing on composition, lyrics and musical presentation. On his debut EP Old Friend, heartache is a recurring theme, as well as the road to adulthood which never seems to end. Each of the songs has its own feel and instrumentation, sometimes with emphasis on the lyrics, sometimes complementing them, but leaving no-one untouched. After about 60 shows in the last year and a half, Eelke has now started work on his debut album. With some unexpected influences of, amongst others, The Smiths, his sound continues to fluctuate. This new inspiration, combined with the refined songs Eelke is
known for, will lead to an endearing new album. His first single from the album will be released on April 7th.