Beastly musical show 'Bon dia in the jungle' premieres in The Hague's Schilderswijk

Join Izaline Calister & Thijs Borsten on an adventure during De Betovering and afterwards throughout the country.

Theater De Vaillant, Festival De Betovering, and Stichting Parea jointly present their newest co-production on Monday, October 20. Following the successful tour of *Doe Normaal!* by Andy Ninvalle, it is now the turn of singer Izaline Calister and musician Thijs Borsten. *Bon dia in de jungle* is an exciting journey with Doctor Iza, the veterinarian on Curaçao who is always ready to help sick animals!

With their catchy (children's) songs, Izaline and Thijs get everyone moving. Animations and, of course, animals complete the party, where differences and similarities between cultures are celebrated. After the Schilderswijk, they will visit Laaktheater and Theater Dakota as part of De Betovering. From January 2026, the show will tour the country (see performance schedule).

Harrie van de Louw, Director of De Vaillant, explains why they are making this co-production possible:

It is important for children to be able to identify with the artists on stage. Together with De Betovering, we present a diverse cultural program and showcase different perspectives. From Western ballet to that deeply rooted in the Caribbean

About Bon dia in the jungle

Doctor Iza cares for as many as 100 different animals in her house. Together with her cheerful parrot Zazu, who always sits on her shoulder, she makes sick animals better again. One day, Doctor Iza finds the monkey Chico, who has a terrible stomach ache. Doctor Iza doesn't understand where the monkey comes from, because there are no monkeys living on our island at all? Doctor Iza investigates why Chico has a stomach ache, but she can't find anything. But then the talkative parrot Zazu suddenly says: “Maybe Chico is homesick? You must take him home, to his parents in the jungle.”

Together with Zazu and Chico, Doctor Iza embarks on an exciting journey full of new friends and dangerous wild animals.

Discipline: Music Theatre / Age: 4 to 8 years / Duration: 60 minutes / Cast: Izaline Calister (vocals/acting), Thijs Borsten (piano/vocals/acting) and Lidrick Solognier (percussion/vocals/acting) / Script & Direction: Kiki Jaski

music Izaline Calister and Thijs Borsten / design Victor Modderkolk / technical support Rijk Jacobs

Playlist

Sun 11 January Theater Zuidplein (Rotterdam)

Sun 18 January De Kleine Willem (Enschede) Sun 15 February, De Meervaart (Amsterdam)

Tue 17 February, Theater Kikker (Utrecht)

Sun 15 March, SPOT/De Oosterpoort, Groningen Sat 21 March, Stadsschouwburg De Harmonie (Leeuwarden) Sun 22 March, PLT Toon Hermans Theater (Sittard)

Sun 29 March, De Lieve Vrouw (Amersfoort)

Sun 5 April, TivoliVredenburg (Utrecht)