{"id":132401,"date":"2026-08-11T10:59:28","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T08:59:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/?p=132401"},"modified":"2026-08-12T12:04:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T10:04:48","slug":"inclusieve-romeo-en-julia-wordt-vanzelfsprekend-kunst-op-boulevard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/2026\/08\/inclusieve-romeo-en-julia-wordt-vanzelfsprekend-kunst-op-boulevard\/","title":{"rendered":"An inclusive production of *Romeo and Juliet* is, of course, set to be a hit at #boulevard"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Laugh at them or laugh with them? That\u2019s more or less the question you ask yourself when you go to see an \u2018inclusive\u2019 performance featuring \u2018actors with disabilities\u2019. Are we going to sit back and watch the clumsy struggles of endearing-looking amateurs, or are we going to experience a performance where everything has been carefully thought out and deliberately crafted? After all, we don\u2019t want to watch people actually falling over, but clowns and acrobats who sell us that illusion. And they do so as well as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Comp. Marius and Het Scheldeoffensief\u2019s *Romeo and Juliet* has been billed as an \u2018inclusive adaptation of Shakespeare\u2019 featuring young actors with and without disabilities. What\u2019s more, it involves throwing crockery and slamming doors. This Monday, the play had its Dutch premiere at the Boulevard Theatre Festival in Den Bosch. It was up to us to check whether the rave reviews from Flanders were not exaggerated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">St Nicholas<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Well then: the Flemish press is right: this \u2018inclusive\u2019 Romeo and Juliet, performed by the experienced actors of <a href=\"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/2015\/05\/briljante-spelers-in-vlotte-komedie-op-de-grootste-hangplek-van-europa\/\">Marius Comp.<\/a> and the mentally and physically \u2018disabled\u2019 actors of Het Scheldeoffensief make for a brilliant production. Are they performing Shakespeare? Yes and no. The famous, four-hundred-year-old drama about the young lovers from rival families has been transformed by a cheerful Waas Gramser, with the help of Saint Nicholas, into gripping, rhythmic language where rhyme and filler phrases ensure that no one misses a single detail of the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In this way, the performers \u2013 both the professional actors and the members of the Scheldeoffensief \u2013 do not have to overcome any limitations to convey what no work of art can do without: the joy of creation. That ingredient \u2013 the umami of any artistic experience \u2013 is employed so convincingly that the hour and a half on this exceptionally cool summer\u2019s evening flies by.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">It goes without saying<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The joy of the performance, thanks to the actors\u2019 wholehearted conviction, ensures that we laugh and cry with them, not at them. That is liberating. And then it happens \u2013 the very thing everyone secretly goes to the theatre for: transformation. As the performance unfolds, you no longer see the actors with their disabilities, but flesh-and-blood characters who bring a universal story to life, amidst all the jokes and antics. Then a death scene \u2013 and this play has plenty of them \u2013 suddenly becomes truly moving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In this way, *Romeo and Juliet* becomes a work of art in which the concept of \u2018inclusivity\u2019 is taken entirely for granted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><div class=\"su-note\"  style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">Review: *Romeo and Juliet* by Comp. Marius and *The Scheldt Offensive* during <a href=\"https:\/\/www.festivalboulevard.nl\/nl\/programma\/romeo-julia\">Theatre festival Boulevard<\/a><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Uitlachen of meelachen? Dat is een beetje de vraag die je jezelf stelt als je naar een &#8216;inclusieve&#8217; voorstelling gaat waarin &#8216;acteurs met een beperking&#8217; meedoen. Gaan we met licht meewaren kijken naar onbeholpen geploeter van aandoenlijk ogende amateurs, of maken we een voorstelling mee waaraan alles is uitgedacht en bewust gemaakt? We willen immers [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":3,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"federated","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[16518,8843,4759,11687],"tags":[15577,4792,15593,58,1732],"class_list":["post-132401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured","category-podiumkunst","category-theater-podiumkunst-2","category-donatie-gevraagd","tag-tfboulevard","tag-den-bosch","tag-inclusiviteit","tag-recensie","tag-william-shakespeare"],"featured_image_url":[],"post_author":"Wijbrand Schaap","assigned_categories":"featured, PODIUMKUNST, THEATER, WAARDEER &amp; DONEER!","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":16391,"url":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/2014\/06\/publiek-op-hun-plek-gezet\/","url_meta":{"origin":132401,"position":0},"title":"Audience put in their place","author":"een van onze leden","date":"20 June 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Although both performances were created in very different ways, parallels can be drawn between 'Romeo and Juliet. To Romeo and Juliet' by Karina Kroft and 'Crastest Ibsen II - People's Enemy' by Sarah Moeremans \/ Noord Nederlands Toneel. Director Karina Kroft and actor Joep van der Geest in conversation....","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Alleen voor leden&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Alleen voor leden","link":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/genre\/service\/members-only\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Veerle-%40work-Karina-Kroft-en-Joep-van-der-Geest.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Veerle-%40work-Karina-Kroft-en-Joep-van-der-Geest.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Veerle-%40work-Karina-Kroft-en-Joep-van-der-Geest.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Veerle-%40work-Karina-Kroft-en-Joep-van-der-Geest.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Veerle-%40work-Karina-Kroft-en-Joep-van-der-Geest.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":37575,"url":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/2016\/07\/losse-hoogtepuntjes-in-romeo-julia\/","url_meta":{"origin":132401,"position":1},"title":"Romeo and Juliet: loose highlights in the Amsterdam Forest","author":"Rudolf Hunnik","date":"25 July 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Huge passenger jetways, like those at an airport, are piled up criss-cross on the stage in the Amsterdamse Bos. This immense structure forms the backdrop for William Shakespeare\u2019s *Romeo and Juliet*, staged by the Amsterdamse Bostheater. Director Ingejan Ligthart Schenk stages Shakespeare\u2019s classic in a modern way, featuring acrobatics by the group Tent\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;ACTUEEL&quot;","block_context":{"text":"ACTUEEL","link":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/genre\/nieuws\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/RomeoJulia-Bostheate-TENT-Veenfabriek-57.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/RomeoJulia-Bostheate-TENT-Veenfabriek-57.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/RomeoJulia-Bostheate-TENT-Veenfabriek-57.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/RomeoJulia-Bostheate-TENT-Veenfabriek-57.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/RomeoJulia-Bostheate-TENT-Veenfabriek-57.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/RomeoJulia-Bostheate-TENT-Veenfabriek-57.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":121135,"url":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/2026\/06\/boulevard-keert-terug-met-120-voorstellingen-op-twintig-verschillende-locaties\/","url_meta":{"origin":132401,"position":2},"title":"Boulevard returns with 120 performances at twenty different locations","author":"Theaterfestival Boulevard","date":"23 June 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Boulevard Theatre Festival is once again bringing the summer to a close in 's-Hertogenbosch with its 42nd edition. From Thursday 6 to Sunday 16 August, the festival will host around 120 performances (including 20 premieres), shows and workshops at twenty venues in and around the city. Artists from home and abroad and stories that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;PERSBERICHTEN&quot;","block_context":{"text":"PERSBERICHTEN","link":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/genre\/service\/persberichten\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32535,"url":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/2016\/04\/romeo-et-juliette-bewijst-synthese-van-opera-en-ballet-bestaat\/","url_meta":{"origin":132401,"position":3},"title":"Rom\u00e9o et Juliette proves: synthesis of opera and ballet exists","author":"Thea Derks","date":"21 April 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The most striking moment is when the orchestra falls silent and Romeo desperately tries to scale the white wall behind which his beloved Juliet has vanished. Time and again he runs up the steep slope, only to slide back down, defeated, each time. His frantic leaps and dashes cause his black\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;ACTUEEL&quot;","block_context":{"text":"ACTUEEL","link":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/genre\/nieuws\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Armen-ten-hemel-gestrekt-Joden-Palestijnen.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Armen-ten-hemel-gestrekt-Joden-Palestijnen.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Armen-ten-hemel-gestrekt-Joden-Palestijnen.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Armen-ten-hemel-gestrekt-Joden-Palestijnen.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Armen-ten-hemel-gestrekt-Joden-Palestijnen.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Armen-ten-hemel-gestrekt-Joden-Palestijnen.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":94575,"url":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/2024\/06\/trajal-harrells-the-romeo-is-de-relaxte-voorstelling-die-je-nu-nodig-hebt-holland-festival\/","url_meta":{"origin":132401,"position":4},"title":"Trajal Harrell's The Romeo is the laid-back performance you need right now @Holland Festival.\u00a0","author":"Wijbrand Schaap","date":"27 June 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"\"I didn't hear a song I didn't know.\" Over white wine after Trajal Harrell's The Romeo, the lady was quite grumpy. I might add that I hadn't seen a move I couldn't have made myself. And yet I wasn't there...","rel":"","context":"In &quot;DANS&quot;","block_context":{"text":"DANS","link":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/genre\/podiumkunst\/dans\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Romeo. \u00a9 Orpheas Emirzas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/The-Romeo-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/The-Romeo-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/The-Romeo-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/The-Romeo-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/The-Romeo-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/The-Romeo-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":76551,"url":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/2022\/04\/tiago-rodrigues-regisseert-isabelle-huppert-in-de-kersentuin-op-het-holland-festival-van-tsjechov-die-de-beste-vriend-van-alle-acteurs-ter-wereld-is-spelen-we-elke-noot\/","url_meta":{"origin":132401,"position":5},"title":"Tiago Rodrigues directs Isabelle Huppert in The Cherry Garden at the Holland Festival: 'From Chekhov, the best friend of all actors in the world, we play every note.'","author":"Wijbrand Schaap","date":"4 April 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"'For the first time in my life, I had the opportunity to play all the notes written by Chekhov. It was an intellectual and artistic challenge to really work with Chekhov. I could really let Chekhov be one of the authors of the performance, and that is for...","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Holland Festival&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Holland Festival","link":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/genre\/service\/specials\/holland-festival\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/La-Cerisaie-%C2%A9-Christophe-Raynaud-de-Lage-Festival-d_Avignon-_6_-scaled.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/La-Cerisaie-%C2%A9-Christophe-Raynaud-de-Lage-Festival-d_Avignon-_6_-scaled.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/La-Cerisaie-%C2%A9-Christophe-Raynaud-de-Lage-Festival-d_Avignon-_6_-scaled.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/La-Cerisaie-%C2%A9-Christophe-Raynaud-de-Lage-Festival-d_Avignon-_6_-scaled.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/La-Cerisaie-%C2%A9-Christophe-Raynaud-de-Lage-Festival-d_Avignon-_6_-scaled.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/La-Cerisaie-%C2%A9-Christophe-Raynaud-de-Lage-Festival-d_Avignon-_6_-scaled.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3yKke-yrv","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132401"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132401\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":132402,"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132401\/revisions\/132402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}