Children open Festival De Betovering for the first time with Bigger Than Life, their own story about resilience, developed with Rabarber & Cat Smits Company

The Hague, October 2025 – Young performing artists from across the city are opening Festival De Betovering this year with the performance Bigger Than Life, a poetic and visual theatre piece that comes straight from their own world. Together with professional theatre maker Anna Boelens from youth theatre school Rabarber and the life-sized puppets of Cat Smits Company, they created a performance that is told not only for, but specifically by children and young people.

The players (aged 9–14) gave shape to their own thoughts and feelings: about what to do when something becomes too big, about being brave, and about how imagination helps to cope with fear. Together, they show how emotions take shape by literally giving their fears a face and learn what it means to look them straight in the eye.

“This performance belongs to them,” says Jeroen. “We didn’t impose a story, but searched together for images and words that truly come from the players themselves. That makes Bigger Than Life honest, moving, and relatable.”

A voice for young makers

At Bigger Than Life, it is all about young creative players being heard. Children's fears are just as big and diverse as those of adults. While still finding themselves, they must cope with a world that sometimes feels terrifying. From loss and exclusion to climate change and war.

The performance shows what can emerge when you not only teach children something, but also give them space to create and share themselves. As human beings, we have the capacity to play with our imagination. We can transform fears into the most multifaceted and imaginative creatures, and that gives us freedom. This artistic freedom contributes to self-confidence, empathy, and collaboration. These are important skills for their further development, on and especially off stage.

A special collaboration

This production by Rabarber, Cat Smits Company, and Festival De Betovering serves as an inspiring example of how cultural institutions collaborate to amplify young voices and celebrate their creative process. The fact that the performance serves as the official opening act of the children's arts festival underscores the importance of this collaboration, as well as of young talent in The Hague's cultural sector. The performance is part of a new artistic signature at Rabarber in which we aim to work inclusively and allow children to be a full-fledged part of the creative process. Under the guidance of professional theatre makers, they are given the space to discover, play, and experience the influence of their voice use, both in the classroom and in society. The performance was made possible thanks to contributions from Cultuurschakel and the Cultuurfonds, in part through the Jan and Lenie van Winden-Heldermand Fund.

When & where to see

Tickets for Festival De Betovering are completely sold out, which is a sign that the story touches and resonates. Therefore, Rabarber is performing school and family shows at Theater Merlijn, Rabarber's home theater.

· October 17 & 18 – Opening of Festival De Betovering (Theater aan het Spui, The Hague) – sold out

· October 27 & 31 – School performances at Rabarber

· November 2 – Family performance at Rabarber / Theater Merlijn – last tickets

For more information or to book tickets, visit www.rabarber.net.