Next to Normal - Nanoek

Name: Next to Normal - Nanoek - Wonkapodia
Start: 2026-10-25T19:00:00+01:00
End: 2026-10-25T21:22:00+01:00
Location: Parktheater Eindhoven

Musical & Show

Husband Dan (Edwin Jonker) salvages what he can; son Gabe flies off in every direction; daughter Natalie takes refuge in pills and perfectionism. As an audience member, you are swept up in the life of a family that looks ‘normal’ on paper, but is fighting for something to hold on to behind the front door.

“Next to Normal is something much more than a feel-good musical: it is a feel-everything musical.” (The New York Times)

With three Tony Awards (2009) and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (2010) under its belt, Next to Normal belongs to a rare club: only ten musicals have ever won that prize. Director Anouk Beugels, known for MELK, een motherfokking musical (showered with five Musical Awards in 2024), deliberately opts for a direct, unpolished approach. Raw, contemporary and imaginative – exactly the way NANOEK makes musicals. Hence this new translation by Judith Boesen. Driven by a steaming pop-rock score, played live by a four-piece band, the story is carried far beyond words: you feel the highs and lows in every fibre of your body.

Trigger warning
Next to Normal deals with mental vulnerability and bipolar disorder, and their impact on a family. The show contains explicit references to suicide. The loss of a child and the grief that follows also feature prominently in the story. In addition, drug and medication use is depicted, as is electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). NANOEK tells this story in an unpolished, up-close way: it may be confronting.

Are you struggling with suicidal thoughts yourself, or would you like to talk to someone about them? 113 Zelfmoordpreventie (Suicide Prevention) is available 24/7 on 113 or 0800-0113 (free), or via chat at 113.nl.

Strobe lighting is used during the show.