TODDLER OR DICTATOR? MEGALOMANIA OF BULLYBULLY STRIKES WORLDWIDE

The toddler show BullyBully (3+) by René Geerlings is making international headlines, with a playful message about power and resistance.

What started as a co-production between Maas theatre and dance and the ATTA Festival in Istanbul quickly grew into an international success. Since 2022, the toddler performance and VSCD cricket winner attracts BullyBully by René Geerlings filled auditoriums with a humorous and recognisable look at power relations. The show now travels the world, from Indonesia to Australia, and is adapted locally by companies in Turkey and Finland, among others. This is how Maas builds sustainable collaborations, with art as a playful and anti-authoritarian counterpoint.

POWER GAME FOR TODDLERS

At BullyBully two kings meet in no-man's land. They begrudge each other nothing, constantly try to outdo each other and behave like adrift toddlers with too much power. What follows is a physical and musical battle full of songs, bickering and nagging. A toddler musical about friendship, the unknown and the art of living together, in which the megalomania of world leaders is playfully exposed for a young audience. According to creator René Geerlings, the theme is more topical than ever: "With dictators on the rise, even in Western countries, the show is extra meaningful now. Dictators are often nothing more than toddlers with too much power. Toddlers in many cases behave even better."

FROM ROTTERDAM TO THE WORLD

After its success in the Netherlands BullyBully start touring internationally. The show has played in Indonesia (Jambi, Jakarta, Yogyakarta), at the Edinburgh International Children's Festival in Scotland, and at festivals in Germany, Italy, Norway, Poland, Liechtenstein, Northern Ireland, Ireland and Canada, among others. In 2025, the show will be in Australia twice - at the Sydney Festival and at the world-famous Sydney Opera House, where it will play to large audiences for weeks.

The performance proved to be universally recognisable, even beyond the toddler target group. In Indonesia, the BullyBully attended by hundreds of teenagers. The minimal text - just "yes" and "no" - also makes the show easily adaptable for international performances.

LONG-LASTING RELATIONSHIPS

Maas theatre and dance prefers to travel internationally if there is artistic reciprocity, for example through workshops, knowledge exchange or long-term co-productions, in order to combine cultural impact with a minimal ecological footprint.

The international ambitions of BullyBully are not limited to playing at festivals for this reason either. Thus, Maas also develops local adaptations of the show in cooperation with companies in Turkey and Finland, among other countries in the pipeline. There, the performance will be played by local casts, with their own sets, costumes and choreography adapted to the context of the country. "In a world where more and more dictatorial leaders seem to be rising up, we are also putting more and more Bullys against them." jokes Geerlings. 

MESH THEATRE AND DANCE FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES

Maas theatre and dance is the largest theatre and dance company for children, young people and young adults in the Netherlands, with its own stage in Rotterdam. Original and physical youth theatre in all possible forms and for all imaginable ages is the central focus. Maas theatre and dance wants to contribute to a just world in which every child has room for play, fantasy and imagination and, through theatre and dance, encourages children, adolescents and young adults to stay close to their hearts.  

CREDITS

Concept, direction: René Geerlings
Game: Sue-Ann Bel, Henke Tuinstra, Sanne Bokkers, Carole van Ditzhuyzen, Pamela Schaap, Wendy Briggeman, Djinti Sullivan (in alternating casts)
Compositions: Reinier van Harten, Sergio Escoda
Costumes: Daphne Karstens, Alice Sprascio (assistant), Karmijn Lange (assistant)
Wigs: Cynthia van der Linden
Mustaches: Stan Roobol
Decor: Sanne Danz
Set construction busts: Jannelies Raaijmakers
Coupeur: Stef Krull
Dramaturgy, director's assistant: Sara Giampaolo
Dance advice: Art Wutthinan Srisayam, Erik Bos
Technology: Peter Raaijmakers, Frans Baudoin
Production: Djoeke Westdijk
Co-production: Maas theatre and dance, Atta Festival, Istanbul