MAT is an international performance by TENT and Common Ground featuring stunning acrobatics, about the beauty in failure and the freedom in allowing it.
Incredible acrobatics and a moving message
In a stage covered in mats, seven acrobats share the art of falling. They challenge themselves and each other to take risks and to achieve the top and they fall, fall again, better and better. But when you fall down, how do you get back up?
Everyone knows the heroic circus, where people work together to achieve the highest goal. This circus performance also shows the downside. With the mat as the main opponent, a story is told about performance pressure and the fear of failure, about taking the leap and persisting. Because although success is one thing, it's possible to learn just as much from falling and getting up again. And if anyone knows this principle, then it’s certainly an acrobat!
A show for anyone who has tried
The performance is for anyone who sometimes experiences pressure to succeed, whether that is young people and adults who have learned from the pain of failure or older people who want to give life a new direction. Indeed, it's for anyone who wants to get better at something and is looking for the courage to be allowed to fail, even when a safety net is not a given.
The show is suitable for those aged 7 and over, because children are learning new things and facing failure even more often than adults! The show doesn't use spoken language so it is perfect for internationals from around the world to enjoy.
Catch the performance on tour
See it at one of it's many shows scheduled across the Netherlands and Belgium until March 13, 2025. It will be visiting all regions of the Netherlands, with major cities including Tilburg, The Hague, Groningen, Utrecht, Amstelveen, Breda and Deventer. Take a look at the full agenda to see when it's in your neighbourhood.
The world premiere of MAT took place in Amsterdam, at the Meervaart Theater, on December 1, 2024. Now the show goes on tour all over the Netherlands and tickets are available from as little as 13 euros.
Discover the creators
After the success of the location performance PIT, MAT's directors Zinzi Oegema and Hanneke Meijers are working together again. Zinzi toured internationally both with her collective Common Ground and with her acrobatics partner Evertjan Mercier.
The artistic all-rounder Hanneke is a graphic designer and one of the three directors of TENT, which is a home for contemporary circus artists in Amsterdam. The musical composition is by My Blue Van together with basbeenackersmusic and the lighting is designed by Wouter Moscou.
Get your tickets to MAT
What are you waiting for? Get tickets to MAT at a theatre near you! The tour takes MAT to many major Dutch cities including Tilburg, The Hague, Groningen, Utrecht, Amstelveen, Breda and Deventer!