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17 Jan

20:00

Theater Kikker

Ganzenmarkt 14, Utrecht

What if, at the moment it really matters, you were as witty as you had hoped? In DEAR FRAIL MALE, Just van Bommel reshapes a personal memory into a textual, rhythmic performance about the (quite literal) weight of the masculine norm.

Dear Frail Male

More info & tickets

What if, at the moment it really matters, you were as witty as you had hoped? In DEAR FRAIL MALE, Just van Bommel tells a personal anecdote about an unexpected 'encounter' with a group of boys. Just reshapes this memory into a textual, rhythmic performance about the (quite literal) weight of the masculine norm.

Imagine, on your way home, you are approached by a group of fifteen boys. They ask questions, about 'what' you are, what you're wearing. Whether you have a penis, or not. Overwhelmed by the event, you are unable to react as you would have liked. You also fail to ask the right questions back. Not to mention wittily pointing out how sad and stupid your attackers actually are. And, in the heat of the moment, you can't muster any empathy at all for the reason why these 'child-men' are shouting hurtful things at you.

But what if you could?

In DEAR FRAIL MALE, Just gives this memory a new form. Carried by two men, Just delves into the struggles of boys and men in their search for an identity, within a society that sees aggression as strength and vulnerability as weakness. Besides being a rebuttal to the common (yet outdated) image of masculinity, the performance is a fervent attempt to inspire men to take an emancipatory step.

Nomination

Nominated for the BNG Bank Theater Prize 2025. From the jury report: ''DEAR FRAIL MALE is a crystal-clear, important, and liberating performance in a beautiful poetic form.''

In the press

“Like a few lucky ones, I had the chance to see Dear Frail Male, a performance by Just van Bommel about masculinity. It received four stars in de Volkskrant, but that's not right, it deserves six.” Tobi Lakmaker, de Volkskrant

"The combination of mockery and empathy makes ‘Dear Frail Male’ by Just van Bommel a brilliant act of resistance." ★★★★ de Volkskrant

"A tour de force that holds up a mirror to the average man..." Valentijn de Hingh, De Correspondent

About Just van Bommel

In their (always personal and highly stylized) work, Just van Bommel tries to give space with lightness and humor to the things that are not pleasant about existence. Just graduated in 2022 as a performer from the Maastricht Theatre Academy. In their performances, they mix humor with tragedy, tapping into the trivial and the ordinary to create space for existential and universal questions. Light, personal, sometimes melodramatic, and always full of self-mockery, so that heavy subjects might feel less heavy.