They would walk for hours, some would lie in bed for days—arms entwined—some would make diamond paintings of dolphins, some would communicate only by tapping on the bathroom wall, some would secretly start a group chat, one of them received their first kiss.

IK BEN KAMER 15 moves between audio documentary and theatre. The performance is about life in a psychiatric clinic. About and with people who meet each other at their most vulnerable, and how unexpectedly beautiful that can be. About people for whom simply continuing to exist is an act of heroism every single day. About people who did not know it was possible to fall so deeply. In this performance, we see the colourful micro‑society within a psychiatric clinic. A society of wildly chaotic, very ordinary people.

More and more people are dealing with mental health issues, also in Tilburg and the surrounding area. Yet there are still many stigmas attached to people who are labelled ‘crazy’, people with anxiety, people with depression. IK BEN KAMER 15 shows what lies behind those numbers. You leave the theatre seeing each other differently.