The inhabitants of a provincial town are going through a ‘liveability crisis’. The population is faced with an identity problem: who are we and where are we heading? They find themselves in a divide between regionalism and cosmopolitanism. Wunderbaum is creating this production in Venlo, ‘the Texas of the lower countries’, famous for its carnival, asparagus, drug tourists and only recently also as Geert Wilders’ home town. The group of actors is working together with politicians, music groups and local actors. The Wunderbaum actors themselves play ‘minor leaders’: people who have to convert major ideas into everyday practice. A police officer with two healthy daughters, an enthusiastic politician, a secondary school teacher and an ambitious entrepreneur.

The audience is witness to the unveiling of a work of art in a public space. There’s a documentary and a speech, followed by a beer and sausage party.

After the performances of Venlo in Venlo, Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Gent, the production will be staged again in Utrecht, Delft and Antwerp from April 2010.

actors Walter Bart, Matijs Jansen, Maarten van Otterdijk, Maartje Remmers, Marleen Scholten documentary/film Tijmen Hauer
costume design Judith Van Herck
music Simon Lenski
dramaturgy/text Joachim Robbrecht
coproduction Theater de Maaspoort, Rotterdamse Schouwburg, NTGent