“Yes, Our pope is at least bizarre.”
De Standaard
“Grunbergian witty tragedy”
Volkskrant
“What Wunderbaum has done with Our Pope commands great respect. […] The good-intentioned young man is crushed without being able to breathe for a moment - and the same goes for the spectator.”
NRC
Our pope is written in February 2007 by Arnon Grunberg for the Wrocławski Teatr Współczesny in Poland, where it has never been staged. Wunderbaum finds the text very interesting, bought the exclusive rights and thus brings the world premiere of this text.
Our pope is about Guillaume van Rompuy, a Flemish university teacher in Dutch. He can’t find a job in Flanders and moves, as recommended by his mum, to Poland (“Life is supposedly still very cheap over there”) to work at the university of Wrocław. His girlfriend is coming with him.
It turns out to be a total catastrophe. Van Rompuy and his girlfriend end up in a society that wants to exploit the merits of capitalism, but at the same time shows a longing for the communism, a deep rooted nationalism, bureaucracy and perverted exercise of power. Van Rompuy is in this environment a modern Sisyphus, who suffers his fate and travels a painful way to something indeterminate.
Text
- Arnon Grunberg
By and with
- Walter Bart
- Ludwig Bindervoet
- Wine Dierickx
- Matijs Jansen
- Jochum ten Haaf
- Maartje Remmers
- Oscar van Rompay
- Jan Kees in ’t Veld
- Eddy Geerlings
- Batuhan Eryigit
- Jan Groenland
- Ties Maas
- Luka Skobo
Design
- Maarten van Otterdijk
Dramaturgy
- Koen Haagdorens
Technician
- Peter Swikker
- Ruud de Zwart
Production coordinator
- Carry Hendriks
Production manager
- Ivo Gort
Editors
- Marlies Spijker
Photography
- Fred Debrock
Co-producer
- Rotterdamse Schouwburg
- NTGent
Made possible by
- Erasmusstichting
- SNS REAAL Fonds
- Stichting Bevordering van Volkskracht
- Van Cappellen Stichting
- Van Leeuwen Van Lignac Stichting
Special thanks to
- Joke van Bilsen
- Eddy Esman
- Arnon Grunberg
- Karol Lesman
- Krystyna Meissner
- Caroline Rutten
- Hofplein Rotterdam
- Monty
- TG Stan
Past dates
-
December 2011
10
Verkadefabriek
Den Bosch (NL) -
December 2011
06
Monty
Anwerpen (BE) -
December 2011
02
De Veste
Delft (NL) -
December 2011
01
Chassé
Breda (NL) -
November 2011
26
Rotterdamse Schouwburg
Rotterdam (NL) -
November 2011
25
Rotterdamse Schouwburg
Rotterdam (NL) -
November 2011
24
Rotterdamse Schouwburg
Rotterdam (NL) -
November 2011
22
Theater aan het Spui
Den Haag (NL) -
November 2011
18
Schouwburg
Arnhem (NL) -
November 2011
17
Monty
Anwerpen (BE) -
November 2011
16
Monty
Anwerpen (BE) -
November 2011
15
Monty
Anwerpen (BE) -
November 2011
10
Rotterdamse Schouwburg
Rotterdam (NL) -
November 2011
09
Rotterdamse Schouwburg
Rotterdam (NL) -
November 2011
08
Rotterdamse Schouwburg
Rotterdam (NL) -
November 2011
05
Theater aan het Vrijthof
Maastricht (NL) -
November 2011
01
Frascati
Amsterdam (NL) -
October 2011
30
Frascati
Amsterdam (NL) -
October 2011
29
Frascati
Amsterdam (NL) -
October 2011
28
Frascati
Amsterdam (NL) -
October 2011
27
Frascati
Amsterdam (NL) -
October 2011
26
Frascati
Amsterdam (NL) -
October 2011
24
Stadsschouwburg
Utrecht (NL) -
October 2011
22
NTGent
Gent (BE) -
October 2011
21
NTGent
Gent (BE) -
October 2011
20
NTGent
Gent (BE) -
October 2011
19
NTGent
Gent (BE) -
October 2011
15
NTGent
Gent (BE) -
October 2011
14
NTGent
Gent (BE) -
October 2011
13
NTGent
Gent (BE) -
October 2011
12
NTGent
Gent (BE) -
October 2011
11
Parktheater
Eindhoven (NL) -
October 2011
08
Toneelschuur
Haarlem (NL) -
October 2011
07
Rotterdamse Schouwburg
Rotterdam (NL) -
October 2011
06
Rotterdamse Schouwburg
Rotterdam (NL) -
October 2011
05
Rotterdamse Schouwburg
Rotterdam (NL)
“A successful performance therefore requires comedians, actors with a good sense of what is fun on stage. Wunderbaum is full of them. Walter Bart and Matijs Jansen are hilarious. One as a self-centred mumbling professor, the other as a laconic dentist.”
Volkskrant
“With his big puppy eyes, his messy professorial hair, his lanky stature and his restrained performance, Van Rompay is the ultimate portrayal of the gullible, respectful Fleming. He balances wonderfully on the thin border between hilarity and vulnerability.”
Knack
Current projects
-
John & Gena -
Die Hundekot-Attacke -
WUNDERBAUM plays LIVE (online it's a mess)