A seven-metre-high climbing structure rises in the middle of the Amsterdamse Bos. Four acrobats climb upwards, balance on steel beams, and swing from pole to pole. As they search for balance and stability, they vividly imagine the wildest dreams about the future — from absurd fantasies to hopeful visions.
Uitkijkers is the latest production by circus company Monki Business, led by acrobat and creator Benjamin “Monki” Kuitenbrouwer. Together with three other acrobats and passers-by, he explores how we can still look ahead together in an uncertain world. Shouldn’t we imagine the future collectively — if only to help us see the present more clearly?
With breathtaking acrobatics, playful dialogue, and a towering climbing structure, Monki Business creates a performance that brings together circus, theatre, and social reflection. Vulnerability at great heights goes hand in hand with humour, rebellious optimism, and an invitation to dare to dream together.
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“They are a combination of beautiful and playful stories, calm yet energetic music (by Michelle Samba), and acrobatics that are both playful and unrestrained. (…) Their acrobatic agility forms an almost literal visual language: a way to momentarily break free from gravity and make space for something lighter. The acrobatics are therefore less a demonstration of control—however much that remains a prerequisite for the performance—and more a form of imagination. (…) It is a subdued celebration of imagination and play, something that in our world sometimes seems to have little room left.”
Review website Pzazz about the performance
DE UITKIJK, A CUSTOM-DESIGNED STRUCTURE
The set is the eye-catcher of Uitkijkers, designed and built by Douwe Hibma. The seven-metre-high climbing frame is a self-contained structure made from a large trailer with ten Chinese poles and multiple crossbars. No anchor points, concrete blocks, or stakes are needed. As a result, Uitkijkers can be installed in a variety of locations. Benjamin Kuitenbrouwer and Douwe Hibma worked on the design of this structure for two years.
ABOUT MONKI BUSINESS AND UITKIJKERS
Uitkijkers is the third part of a triptych on the role of optimism in our society. With Uitkijkers, Monki Business chooses the public space. The seven-metre-high climbing structure is more than a set design: it is a futuristic playground that invites audiences to pause, observe, and imagine together. In this way, Uitkijkers is both a circus performance and a social experiment, in which performers and audience practice thinking about the future together. Because reflecting on the future is not something you do alone. In order to even imagine a future, shouldn’t we make a collective effort? Uitkijkers is a shared exercise in daring to imagine, because we must first be able to see it before we can truly move towards it together.
With a rebellious and playful tone, and theatre and acrobatics as its language, Monki creates spaces of encounter where everyone is invited to feel at home—from city squares to festival grounds. Uitkijkers is an invitation to collectively imagine challenging perspectives on the future: vulnerable, absurd, affectionate, and always with a touch of mischief.
Credits
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Hanna de Vletter, Clara Köpf, Ohtocani Alvarez, Benjamin Kuitenbrouwer
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Performance
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Benjamin Kuitenbrouwer
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Concept and artistic direction
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Anouke de Groot
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Direction
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Bas van Rijnsoever
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Dramaturgy
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Michelle Samba
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Music
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Saskia de Zee
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Costumes
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Douwe Hibma
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Set design
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Marie Groothof, Rashid Novaire, Yinka Kuitenbrouwer, Pablo Fontdevila, Rick Steggerda
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Text contributions
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Veerle van Lieshout
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Production
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Cahit Metin & Arnold Schut
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Technical team
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Marieke van Oosten
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Marketing
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Amanda Harput
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Campaign image
Uitkijkers is a production by Monki Business in co-production with Circuswerkplaats Dommelhof, Circuswerkplaats Cirklabo, TENT, Deventer op Stelten, ECDF, and MAD Festival.
Uitkijkers is made possible with the support of the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts, the City of Rotterdam, BNG Culture Fund, Stichting Dioraphte, VSB Fund, the Dutch Culture Fund (Cultuurfonds), Norma Fund, and Volkskracht.
Dogs on leash allowed
Main stage
Wheelchair Accessible
(With English subtitles)
