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DEAR FRAIL MALE

Just van Bommel / Frascati Producties
Tue 21 Jan ’25 - Sat 1 Feb ’25
On how it sucks for men (that they suck).
Tue 21 Jan ’25
-
Sat 1 Feb ’25

What if, right at the moment when it really counted, you were just as sharp as you would hope to be? In DEAR FRAIL MALE, Just van Bommel tells a personal anecdote about an unexpected ‘encounter’ with a group of boys. Just re-frames this memory in a text-based, rhythmical performance about the (pretty literal) weight of the male norm.

Just imagine: on the way home, you are suddenly approached by a group of fifteen boys. They ask questions – about ‘what’ you are, what you’re wearing. Whether you have a dick or not. Taken off guard by the event, you’re unable to respond as you would like. Or ask the right questions back. Never mind being able to wittily point out just how pathetic and stupid your aggressors really are. And, in the heat of the moment, there’s absolutely no way you could find any understanding of the reasons why these ‘child-men’ are shouting insults at you. 

But what if you could? 

In DEAR FRAIL MALE, Just gives the memory outlined above a new form. Supported by men, Just plunges into these boys’ struggles with their search for an identity, in a society that sees aggression as strength and vulnerability as weakness. As well as a riposte to this outdated, widespread view of masculinity, the production is a passionate attempt to inspire men to take a step towards emancipation.

  • Premiere: Friday 25 January 20:30
  • Language: English

Credits

concept, direction, performance Just van Bommel director Lisa Verbelen composition, sound design Annelinde Bruijns lighting design Erik van de Wijdeven costume design Ulkuhan Akgul performance Niels van Heijningen, Michael Wanga

The press on Just van Bommel

"Being at Het spektakeltje is like rushing through a galaxy. [...] This production gets you to feel humble and at the same time linked to everything you cannot comprehend." ★★★★ de Volkskrant on Het Spektakeltje (The Mini Spectacle)

"Human existence beautifully mapped out in moments great and small." Theaterkrant on Het Spektakeltje (The Mini Spectacle)

Most promising newcomers: Just van Bommel and Emma van den Elshout – Rosalie Fleuren – Theaterkrant

About the maker

Just van Bommel strives in their (always personal and heavily formal) work to open up scope, with a light touch and a sense of humour, for the less pleasant aspects of existence. Just graduated in performance from Toneelacademie Maastricht institute of performative arts in 2022. In their productions, they mix humour with tragedy, tapping into the trivial and the ordinary to create space for existential, universal questions. Light, personal, at times melodramatic and always self-deprecating, and so taking some of the heaviness out of these heavy topics.

They have been affiliated with Frascati Producties as a maker since 2023. Previously, Just created the production A Divine Aversion to DYING here, with Diane Mahín, as part of Beginnings 2022, as well as Het Spektakeltje (2023) with Emma van den Elshout. Just is also a member of the collective The Midnight Specials, with Lieke van der Vegt and Laila Claessen. 

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