Rascals and heroes battle for power at Utrecht Festival a/d Werf

There is no such thing as the perfect human being. We are all crooks. Or is there a way to get it right? Ilay den Boer and the actors of De Utrechtse Spelen / De Warme Winkel each explore in their own way at the 26th edition of Festival aan de Werf.

Wasn't my grandfather just an asshole? That's what Ilay den Boer wonders in Suit yourself (10+). It is the first and, for now, the only youth performance in his six-part series The Promised Feast. Too bad that tonight's audience is mostly adults. We count only two children and a handful of adolescents in the audience. With the over-thirties, the interactive elements in the performance - in the spirit of: figure it out for yourself - do not come off so well.

That it does not want to flow is not down to Den Boer's storytelling talent. Together with musician and childhood friend Florian de Backere, he reminisces about his grandfather. Energetically, and with a sense of drama. In his childhood, grandpa den Boer moved from Germany, where he could no longer live as a Jew, to Israel. Once in Israel, they called him 'Kraut' there.

The smallest girl in the audience has also been scolded at times, she tells den Boer. For 'fuckmens'. She has never experienced a war. But if her parents would make her fight, she would. Just like Den Boer's grandfather, who spilled the necessary blood in Israel at his father's request. He left the army to fulfil his personal dream: build one playhouse for all war children.

The show gets exciting when it turns out that not everyone has fond memories of the child psychologist. Perhaps his grandfather was not at all the hero Den Boer always saw in him. This frustrates him and his young audience. Should his grandfather have done things differently? But how then? They obviously don't figure it out.

The five actors in Viva La Naturisteraçion share a different past: they spent their holidays naked. According to them, more people should do so. In their ideal world, everyone wears an Adam costume: 'We are no longer consumers and can finally live in freedom.'

Like inspired teachers, the players walk the path of history. Joris Smit jots down findings on nude culture on a long roll of paper. Guus Boswijk proudly holds up some books on the sources of naturism. OK, so much for the historical facts. But what does a free life look like in 2011?

The clothes come off and are given a place in the packed set, which most resembles a gigantic junk loft. In comic ballets, the actors show their vision of the free, playing man. All five are equally funny and physically awkward. You almost start to feel something for their primitive lifestyle.

But then things go wrong. The rules of interplay are not clear and some take it too far. You can see it coming, but still it is painful when it happens. Man has become a beast. To start over, an apocalyptic measure is necessary, says actor Mark Kraan. Such a solution doesn't come across as very original, but when things finally collapse, it is enormously relieving.

On 29 May, you can attend the performance naked.

Seen on Festival on the Wharf, which continues until 29 May.