Pleaser

What do we lose when we always try to be liked?

Pleaser is a solo dance-comedy about the invisible energy of people-pleasing, not just as a personal struggle, but as a collective dysfunction.  

Through (break)dance, clowning, and physical comedy, Cristian Boscheri explores how our need for approval shapes relationships, weakens boundaries, and distorts our sense of justice and connection.  

With raw movement and unexpected humor, he exposes the exhausting emotional acrobatics behind niceness. Cristian invites you to join him on a journey full of tension, release, and play, a search for honesty, presence, and the courage to be seen as we are.

Credits

Writer, director, performer: Cristian Boscheri

Outside eyes: Goos Meeuwsen, Aurélia Brailowsky, Shailesh Bahoran, Harvey Cobb, Pepijn Ronaldo

Composition and Music Production: Carlo Dini

Credits for the poster photo: Anahí Clemens

Co-production: Circusstad Festival (through Circunstruction)

Support: Gemeente Rotterdam, Cultuurfonds, Amsterdam Fonds voor de Kunsten, Fonds Podiumkunsten, CircusBende

Duration: different versions available 10min/30min/50min






Playing Dates

  • 11  August (2x) en 17 August (2x) 2025 - Festival Boulevard, ’s-Hertogenbosch (work in progress)
  • 29/30/31 August 2025 -  Circusbende Festival, Amsterdam (work in progress)
  • 7 September (2x) and 13 September (2x) 2025 - Mezrab via Amsterdam Fringe Festival, Amsterdam (work in progress)
  • 10 October 2025 - ADM Festival, Rotterdam (work in progress)
  • 11 October 2025 - Volkstheater via Circunstruction/Circusstad, Rotterdam (work in progress)
  • 22 October 2025 - Studio showing, Rotterdam (work in progress en feedback round)
  • 11 November 2025 - De Landing via Circunstruction/Circusstad, Amsteelveen (work in progress)
  • 14 November 2025 - Maaspodium via Circunstruction/Circusstad, Rotterdam (work in progress)
  • Week van 9 februari 2026, Panama Pictures, ’s-Hertogenbosch (work in progress)
  • 26 Febaruary 2026 - Korzo, Den Haag.
  • May 2026 - Circusstad, Rotterdam




















Bio


Cristian is an Italian interdisciplinary maker, dancer, and comedian based in Rotterdam. He previously worked as an engineer at TU Eindhoven and co-founded Stichting Wedowe before fully committing to the arts in 2024. His artistic journey began in Italy with breaking in 2005, winning his first national championship in 2009. In 2023, he won Open Your Mind, an international competition for experimental dance. Since 2022, he has also been active as a stand-up comedian and was a finalist in the 2025 Comedy Talent Award at Tivoli Vredenburg. His solo work blends dance, mime, clowning, and humor, with space for vulnerability and playfulness.  

Cristian’s artistic research explores how perception is shaped by emotional and psychological states, and how shifts in those states affect how we relate to ourselves, others, and the world. He is fascinated by comedy as a language, whether purely physical, purely verbal, or a mix of both, and how it interacts with movement, dance, and audience participation.

Links & Contact