Title File type Publiseringsdato Download
Season program catalog Black Box Theater autumn 2009. pdf August 2009 Download

Kamp Jezus

Kamp Jezus by Wunderbaum (Netherlands/Belgium). Kamp Jezus is a theatre production telling the story of a generation that has everything, but who nevertheless feels empty.

The artists in Wunderbaum say that they wish to examine Christian customs, images and choral song. «We seek the power behind stories such as the suffering story and the story of the embrace of Zacchaeus, the outcast.»

Wunderbaum usually makes site-specific productions. With Kamp Jezus the company has made a production for a theatre venue for the first time.

Information

(Objekt ID 7735)
Object type Production
Premiere August 28, 2009
Produced by , ,
Audience Youth, Adults
Language English and Latin
Keywords Theatre, Music, Video, Multidisciplinary, Post-dramatic theatre, Performance, Tragicomedy/Seriocomedy, Concert
Website wunderbaum home

Requirements to venue

Blackout No
More

In the production Kamp Jezus the actors in Wunderbaum manifest their will to believe, onstage and on screens. They pray, they sing in a choir while playing out a passion play in an attempt to reach new heights, which can again lead to unexpected ecstasy.

Wunderbaum formerly has staged its production in unusual venues such as a shopping mall, a religious centre and a military tent. This time they have chosen the stage venue, which has been transformed into a room for prayer, with everything from an altar to the gospel rock band  The God-Squad. They are assisted by local choirs. In Oslo Koret Oslo Ø was singing. In Trondheim the choir was Svartlamon Hardkor.

The inspiration Wunderbaum has found in documentaries, films, books and passion plays. The artists have talked to priests, religious historians and sociologists. Improvisation, own texts and live music make the foundation for the production Kamp Jezus.

In the program of BIT Teatergarasjen one could read the following about the production:

"Sometimes it feels good to leave your mind at the door and enter the room with your heart. You'll feel a lot of love and the strong presence of something spiritual here. It’s very strong, almost addictive. It doesn’t have a shape, it’s a feeling. But it exists. And it’s awake. Welcome to Kamp Jezus. The production Kamp Jezus by Wunderbaum is about the Western human being’s attempts at lifting one’s spirits with Christianity."

Wunderbaum is a company springing out from Productiehuis Rotterdam in the Netherlands and NTGent in Belgium. The company’s productions usually revolve around social, urban or metropolitan topics and prior Kamp Jesus they have always taken place in an alternative, urban location.

Kamp Jezus was selected for The Dutch Theatre Festival in 2008.

In the jubilee program of Avant Garden in 2009, the following was written (the production was called Camp Jesus when performed in Trondheim):

"Camp Jesus shows the world through the eyes of the new Christians. Christianity has made a comeback. But wherein lies the force of faith, and where does the caricature start? How can religion offer hope in a time of confusion?"

Sources: BIT Teatergarasjen Autumn program 2009. 07.11.2010: http://www.bit-teatergarasjen.no/article/64

Black Box Teater, blackbox.no, 26.10.2010, http://www.blackbox.no/content/titlePresentation.php?tid=2013&displayNav=false

Contributors (14)
Name Role
William Bakker – Music
Jeroen Versteele – Dramaturge
Maarten van Otterdijk – Stage design
Maarten van Otterdijk – Lighting design
Walter Bart – Actor
Wine Dierickx – Actor
Matijs Jansen – Actor
Maartje Remmers – Actor
Marleen Scholten – Actor
Charlotte Vandermeersch – Actor
William Bakker – Musician (The GodSquad)
Jens Bouttery – Musician (The GodSquad)
Matijs Jansen – Musician (The GodSquad)
Maarten van Otterdijk – Musician (The GodSquad)
Performance dates
September 10, 2009Verkstedhallen, Svartlamon & Co Show
September 9, 2009Verkstedhallen, Svartlamon & Co Show
September 8, 2009Verkstedhallen, Svartlamon & Co Show
September 4, 2009Store scene Black Box Teater (Marstrandgata) Show
September 3, 2009Store scene Black Box Teater (Marstrandgata) Show
September 2, 2009Store scene Black Box Teater (Marstrandgata) Season premiere/Seasonal opening
August 30, 2009Studio Bergen, Carte Blanche Show
August 29, 2009Studio Bergen, Carte Blanche Show
August 28, 2009Studio Bergen, Carte Blanche National premiere, Norway
Press coverage

"Kamp Jezus is a large step in Wunderbaum’s development. The interaction between theatre and concert seems natural and in accordance with the ritual of communion, with thanksgiving and with a wish for peace. The only thing lacking is the mission behind. Leaving that to the audience is a conscious choice made by convincing Wunderbaum."

-De Morgen, Belgium

BIT Teatergarasjen Autumn program 2009, bit-teatergarasjen.no, 08.11.2010, http://www.bit-teatergarasjen.no/uploads/file/Presse/Sesongprogram/BIT%20HOST%202009.pdf