At The Kettle is Always On Two sisters seek solid ground amidst the turmoil of their young adult lives. This intimate and humorous handstand duet by Nolanders & TENT explores rituals and the search for stability in a chaotic world. On Saturday 8 August 2026 at 4.30 pm, the compact outdoor version will premiere during the Boulevard Theatre Festival in ’s-Hertogenbosch.
Lily (2003) and Melody (1998) Nolan are two handstand performers, acrobats and sisters from the US, who together form the Nolanders. They grew up in a travelling circus family and were always on the move. Their home consisted of the rucksack full of belongings they carried with them and their daily rituals. In an environment where change was the norm, these rituals provided a sense of stability. Practising circus together was one of them, but so too were the personal rituals surrounding packing, unpacking and displaying their carefully chosen equipment.
In *The Kettle is Always On*, they explore the influence of their shared upbringing through handstands, acro-dance and subtle irony. Whilst the kettle is on the hob, their worlds collide, but their shared family rituals provide a sense of stability. How do you stay connected to the people you love, even when you don’t always understand one another?
Nolanders began more than ten years ago as a family project. Together with their parents and younger sister, Lily and Melody Nolan created circus performances. Later, the sisters each moved in turn from California to Codarts Circus Arts in Rotterdam. Both embrace the contrast between the often static discipline of the handstand and the dynamism of acrobatics. Using a purely physical language, they explore deeply human issues. The result is both poetic and absurd, and firmly rooted in virtuoso acrobatics.
For their graduation performances, Lily received a nomination for the BNG Circus Prize in 2025; Melody won this prize in 2021. In 2025 and 2026, Nolanders is a resident company at TENT, in co-production with De Landing. *The Kettle is Always On* is their debut production. The work was developed as both a full-length production and a compact outdoor version. The full-length version premiered on 28 January 2026 during *This is not a circus* in Amsterdam.
PERFORMANCE DATES
8 August 2026 • 16:30 (premiere) & 20:00 • Boulevard Theatre Festival, NL • outdoors
9 August 2026 • 15:45 • Boulevard Theatre Festival, NL • outdoors
26 Feb 2027 • 8.30 pm • Pand P, Eindhoven, NL *
13 March 2027 • 7.00 pm • Evergem Cultural Centre, BE *
5 May 2027 • 8.00 pm • Schoten CC / De Kaekelaar, BE *
*full-length version*
CREDITS
CREATION & PERFORMANCE Melody Nolan • Lily Nolan OUTSIDE EYE Noëmi Wagner DRAMATURGICAL CONSULTANT Aurelia Brailowsky COSTUMES Lisa Chudalla MUSIC & SOUND DESIGN Luke Deane SET DESIGN Luka Viool LIGHTING DESIGN Cerian Mason PRODUCER TENT Huis voor Hedendaags Circus PRODUCTION Juliette Talakua CO-PRODUCER PERPLX vzw • De Landing SUPPORTED BY Fonds Podiumkunsten • Amsterdam Fund for the Arts • Municipality of Rotterdam • Dioraphte • Van Bijlevelt Foundation • Mostert – Van der Meijden Foundation RESIDENCIES Silence Residency • Arts Printing House • De Clinch • Latitude 50 • Motion Chapel • PERPLX • CIRKlabo • Korzo • De Landing IMAGE Jona Harnischmacher
TENT is the home of contemporary circus in the Netherlands, with boundless ambitions, run by and for circus artists who are passionate about their craft. Since its foundation in 2010, it has supported artists at various stages of their artistic development and creative process by offering a range of programmes, from an open-stage performance to a four-year residency as a resident artist. In doing so, they invest in a high-quality and diverse range of circus performances in the Netherlands. www.tent.eu
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