Spullenmannen

The Spullenmen make visual theatre and theatrical installations. They share a fascination for old 'spullen', Dutch for 'things' or 'stuff'. With lost-and-founds and scrap yard parts they developed their own specific visual language, which they put to use in standalone contraptions, hidden (street) performance, short acts and full theatre productions. Projects by the Spullenmen distinguish by an inventive clumsiness that is constructed with great care and precision. Bumbling engineering solutions and an uneasy timing offer a disarming insight in the often-underestimated potential of spullen and the sometimes-awkward desires of human beings. The Spullenmen do not aim for one genre or discipline of arts, but instead seek for the shape that a specific idea needs. In this way a very diverse audience is addressed, both in the Netherlands and abroad. De Spullenmannen are a collective of autodidact visual artists and performers, operating under the Absurd Netherlands Foundation. The Spullenmen perform in the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Austria, Hungary and Norway.