My name is Benjamin Kuitenbrouwer, also known as Monki. I have been creating theatrical circus performances since graduating from Codarts (Rotterdam) in 2014. With my one-man company MONKI Business, I've created two solo shows: Not Somewhere Else (2017-2018) and STATIC (2019-the present). The latter was shortlisted for CircusNext 2018-2019. I’m also a co-founder and performer with the Chinese pole collective Sous le Manteau, based in France. We are currently touring with our show Monstro.
In my work I typically mix circus with theatrical elements and other disciplines, such as video or live music. I’m interested in exploring the boundaries between performance and the raw here-and-now, looking for the moment the audience and the performer together move from the theatre into another world: whether through a specific story, something poetic or even just a beautiful image that transports us for a moment. I like to break through the fourth wall and often use text because I enjoy the way this enables me to bring the performer and the audience together in a natural way.
I made the show 3 in cooperation with TENT in 2015. But we go way further back than that: we all attended the same youth circus, Circus Elleboog in Amsterdam. This creates a very special foundation for our current collaboration, which now operates in a much more horizontal way. At TENT, I have been working on my performance BEING BENJAMIN and the performance JACK. This last one is my directing debut and premiered on September 26th 2020. Alongside my role as an acrobat and a performer, I have always been interested in creating work myself. My course at TENT is therefore a wonderful opportunity to look at this from a different angle and dedicate myself fully to the role of maker.
MAKER FOR
two years • four years
HIS PRESENTATIONS
3 • Being Benjamin • JACK
CIRCUSMONKI 
MONKI_BUSINESS