WUNDERBAUM plays LIVE (online it's a mess)

The theatre group Wunderbaum, together with writer Annelies Verbeke, is going to investigate the social media use of pupils in secondary schools. Reluctantly - because we do not want to appear old - but with the thought that it is high time to create a performance about our screen time. Ever since the iPhone made its massive, glorious entry into our country in 2008, we have been ‘hooked’. Our behaviour changed; generational gaps revealed themselves.

As parents and educators, we are mildly to heavily concerned. We hear stories of children adopting different identities in 20 WhatsApp groups, secretly keeping a second phone, participating in anorexia challenges on the dark web and preferring to celebrate New Year with their friends online in ‘World of Warcraft’. Or is this all grossly exaggerated and should we stick to the love-attention-and-trust mantra so characteristic of our generation of parents?

And what right do we really have when we regularly find ourselves scrolling at a screen ourselves when our child talks to us? Or when we surf from current affairs to Funda late into the night between series?

‘WUNDERBAUM performs live (online it’s a mess)’ is a performance that does not shy away from one of the most pressing questions of this century: How much of our time do we want to spend online?  

Acting

  • Mitchell Abionie
  • Walter Bart
  • Elvis de Launay
  • Wine Dierickx
  • Matijs Jansen
  • Giari Knaapen
  • Maartje Remmers
  • Marleen Scholten
  • Marleen Sparreboom
  • Lars van Nistelrooij
  • Toto van Stekelenburg

Text

  • Annelies Verbeke

Live music and composition

  • Frank Rosaly

Light en scenography

  • Julian Maiwald

Video design

  • Noortje van den Eijnde

Costume design

  • Lotte Goos

Photography

  • Sofie Knijff
  • Nick Helderman

Director's assistent

  • Sasha Kurensky

Education

  • Anne Marie Westerveen

Technician

  • Jens Bakker
  • Pieter Bouma

Technical coordination

  • Martijn Nieuwenburg

Production manager

  • Andrea van Bussel
  • Sanne Priem

Coproducer

  • Theater Rotterdam

With the support of

  • VSBfonds
  • Stichting Elise Mathilde Fonds
  • Fonds 21
  • VriendenLoterij Fonds
  • Fonds Podiumkunsten
  • Gemeente Rotterdam
  • Theater Rotterdam

Upcoming dates

  • February 2025

    19

    20:00

    De Goudse Schouwburg
    Gouda

  • February 2025

    20

    20:15

    Castellum
    Alphen aan den Rijn

  • February 2025

    21

    20:00

    Het Nationale Theater
    Den Haag

  • February 2025

    28

    20:15

    Theater de Veste
    Delft

  • March 2025

    04

    20:00

    Schouwburg Amstelveen

  • March 2025

    06

    20:15

    Theater de Vest
    Alkmaar

  • March 2025

    09

    16:00

    Theater Rotterdam

  • March 2025

    12

    19:30

    Leidse Schouwburg

  • March 2025

    14

    20:00

    Leietheater
    Deinze

  • March 2025

    17

    20:00

    Het Paleis
    Antwerpen

  • March 2025

    18

    13:30

    Het Paleis
    Antwerpen

Past dates

  • February 2024

    24

    Theater de Veste
    Delft

  • February 2024

    23

    Chassé
    Breda

  • February 2024

    22

    Theater de Maagd
    Bergen op Zoom

  • February 2024

    17

    NTGent

  • February 2024

    07

    Het Nationale Theater
    Den Haag

  • February 2024

    05

    Musis en Stadstheater
    Arhnem

  • January 2024

    30

    Parktheater
    Eindhoven

  • January 2024

    28

    Stadsschouwburg Utrecht

  • January 2024

    26

    Internationaal Theater Amsterdam
    ENG surtiteld

  • January 2024

    25

    Internationaal Theater Amsterdam
    ENG surtitled

  • January 2024

    24

    Verkadefabriek
    Den Bosch

  • January 2024

    21

    Theater Rotterdam
    Premiere

  • January 2024

    19

    Theater Rotterdam
    Try out

  • January 2024

    18

    Theater Rotterdam
    Try out

  • January 2024

    17

    Theater Rotterdam
    Try out

“In recognisable, witty dialogue, it outlines a zeitgeist where certain basic values appear to have derailed. Wunderbaum’s latest production exposes many sore points, which is as funny as it is disconcerting.” Theaterkrant, keuze van de criticus

“Hilarious satire on online communication.” ★★★★ De Volkskrant

“It is the most beautiful final image of a performance this season.” ★★★★★ NRC

“Spending time on your phone in the company of others is hugely irritating for the people around you. Your attention is somewhere else and only you know what you are looking at or who you are apping with. Wunderbaum’s theatre makers turn this anti-social phenomenon upside down in a spectacular way.” De Groene Amsterdammer


“You can empathise with each of the characters: no one is ‘right’, each just has a different perspective. What a relief.” Trouw

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