Just van Bommel
Maker
Just van Bommel (1999) likes to blend humor with tragedy, broaching the trivial and commonplace to create space for existential and universal questions. Light, personal, sometimes melodramatic and always bursting with self-irony, so that heavy topics might feel a little less oppressive. At Frascati Productions, they created, among other works, DEAR FRAIL MALE (2025) and Het Spektakeltje (together with Emma van den Elshout, 2023).
Biography
Just van Bommel graduated as a performer from Toneelacademie Maastricht in 2022. Their graduation production 't Showtje, a co-creation with Emma van den Elshout, was chosen by Via Rudolphi as one of three shows for Het Debuut 2022. Later that year, they created The Midnight Special for BOSLAB in collaboration with Laila Claessen and Lieke van der Vegt and A divine aversion to dying with Diane Mahín for Beginnings at Frascati. Since 2023, they have been associated with Frascati Producties as a maker.
For their first Frascati production, Het Spektakeltje, Just once again collaborated with with Emma van den Elshout. The result was a kaleidoscopic performance about how everything in our universe moves with and around each other, how it intertwines, and how we can give it meaning
DEAR FRAIL MALE went into production in 2025 and is a personal yet universal performance about the weight of the male norm. The production was nominated for the BNG Theatre Prize. Another gleaming example of how Just is inspired in by their irritation of and fascination with established norms. This same year the fact that significant themes for them are the fear of death and awkwardness in love is something that wonderfully coincided with a lead performance in Oostpool’s Pride & Prejudice.
Nominations
Nominated for BNG Bank Theaterprijs 2024. According to the jury: “DEAR FRAIL MALE is a crystal-clear, important, and liberating performance in a beautiful poetic form.”
Press
"The combination of satire and empathy makes Just van Bommel's 'Dear Frail Male' a brilliant act of resistance." ★★★★ de Volkskrant on DEAR FRAIL MALE
"Why is aggression often still seen as strength and vulnerability dismissed as weakness? I want to contribute to a larger conversation." Interview with Het Parool
"In Het Spektakeltje, it's as if you're racing through a galaxy. [...] The performance makes you feel humble and, at the same time, connected to everything you cannot comprehend." ★★★★ de Volkskrant on Het Spektakeltje
"In both grand and small moments, the existence of humanity is beautifully charted." Theaterkrant on Het Spektakeltje
Productions
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