02 april 2026
Looking back with Misiconi
‘I always find myself admiring the amount of personal contact between everyone working for Boulevard.’
We asked theatre companies what their most prominent memories of the last edition of Theaterfestival Boulevard were. What was their favourite moment, what was the atmosphere at the festival like for them, and what did they learn for the future.
Joop Oonk (1989) is the founder and artistic director of Misiconi, an inclusive, mixed dance company with professional performances. In the summer, they’ll be performing at Theaterfestival Boulevard for the third time. Last year, they did so with ‘MORPH’: a performance about identity, alienation, and dog masks.
‘I always find myself admiring the amount of personal contact between everyone working for Boulevard. That’s why I also think it’s special that many of the festival employees visit our performances, and keep up with what Misiconi and I are doing.’
Experience
‘It touched me, because the audience is very compassionate’
Joop describes the festivals atmosphere as ‘pleasant and cozy’. Besides that, she says Boulevard is unique in its personal contact and one of the only festivals that really collaborates in terms of needs based on content. Her most Brabant-like experience at Boulevard is eating a Bossche Bol together. ‘It’s becoming tradition’.
She’ll never forget how some of her colleagues (dancers) don’t leave home or stay over somewhere without (parental) supervision often. It can cause some funny moments, like getting tipsy because they forgot to check whether the beer they were drinking was alcohol-free.
The audience response that stayed with her the most last year was during the performance ‘Falling’, where the audience felt like intervening at the end. They didn’t end up doing it, but it was clear they really wanted to help the falling person. “It touched me, because the audience is very compassionate.”
Looking back and ahead
She’ll still have to figure out what to do for the next edition of Boulevard. ‘Usually, the conversations start around this time. The last editions have taught me a lot about inclusivity and sensory input. We developed sensory zones, and get new challenges on how to frame our performances and make them accessible for a wider audience time and time again. What do we need to be able to perform in a tent, for example.’
'With dancers, I’d like to see more performances at the festival, because manyndon’t get the opportunity. It does cost practice time, so it will always be a challenge. I remember visiting in 2024 and ending up in a scorching hot tent. So, the weather definitely plays a roll.’
We can expect ambitious steps soon. ‘But nothing is set in stone, even if you work really hard.’
As a final tip to the visitors of Boulevard, she says this: ‘Go to a performance you might not have usually picked, and talk about what you thought was the most and least interesting.’
