Benjamin Kuitenbouwer, better known as Monki, worked on the production during a creative residency at Ell Circo D'ell Fuego in the Blikfabriek. Central to the production is the concept of Futures Literacy. The idea that, as a society, we can learn to deal better with the future. “There isn’t just one future. There are still endless possibilities because the future doesn’t yet exist,” says Monki.

Looking Forward is not a traditional circus performance. The audience is invited to join in the thinking and to say aloud what they want to see happen. Stories and dreams from workshop participants are incorporated into the performance. “We can learn from children to make fantasy and imagination second nature,” says Monki. “Adults are quicker to censor.”

The stage itself is an eye-catcher: a large trailer, the Uitkijk, with ten Chinese poles and a web of cross-connections. A structure that took two years to build and was fully tested for the first time during the residency. “We were able to create material that wouldn’t otherwise have been in the performance,” says Monki about the residency period.

Looking Forward is polyphonic, physical and hopeful: an invitation to take dreams seriously together. The show will continue touring Europe in 2026 and 2027.