HistoryHistory

Inspringtheater arose from Stichting Boerengroep. Stichting Boerengroep is founded in 1971 to let a more critical and practice-oriented voice be heard by students at the agricultural university in Wageningen (the WUR). The stance is that the education is too theoretical and painting a wrong picture of the reality of farmers. Boerengroep uses multiple methods to let the voices of the farmers be heard and to work towards a more social, just and sustainable food system. Think about organizing critical lectures, film screenings and courses, but also linking researchers and students to farmers so research can be done that is actually matching the needs of the farmers in practice. More information about Boerengroep can be found on their website www.boerengroep.nl/en.

In 1972, one year after the foundation of Boerengroep, a group of their people started a theatre group: Het Boerentoneel. Het Boerentoneel made theatre plays about pressing topics in agriculture, followed by discussions with the audience. Het Boerentoneel made theatre plays about for example succession of family farms and the disappearance of facilities in rural areas.

Around 2000 Het Boerentoneel followed the movement of Augusto Boal and his Theatre of the Oppressed and the emphasis became more on participation of the audience. The name changed from Het Boerentoneel to Het Inspringtheater and because of the shift towards this technique developed to address all different kinds of oppression, the door opened towards a wider scope of topics. Plays have been made about scientific integrity, study pressure and discrimination. However, the focus of Inspringtheater is still mostly on the agricultural topics.