Boys Just Want To Have Fun

Boys Just Want To Have Fun - Project Description

Boys Just Want To Have Fun explores deconstruction of masculinity and challenges taboos surrounding male sensuality and sexuality within mainstream Western culture.

By addressing power dynamics and hierarchies of social positioning in visual art spaces (the gallery), Boys Just Want To Have Fun interrogates the politics of object and subject - presenting the male as an object. It poses the questions: What is a body? How are its utterances informed by its process of becoming? What does an individual agency look like in a public space - both for audience and performers? In this context, objectification is utilised as means with which to examine the ‘man’ as an artwork, a creation, or fiction. In this piece, Aloni asks: How are men being “man-ified” and “man-ifactured”?

This is a durational score, a chain of solos which also includes moments of interaction amongst multiple performers from a cast of male presenting and identifying artists. The audience is invited to enter and exit the space as they please and to choose their own paths in the performance space, fostering a sense of active participation and engagement.

The performance includes nudity and some violence.

Boys Just Want To Have Fun - Concept Development

Since 2014, numerous projects of ilDance Artistic Director - Israel Aloni, have been addressing the themes of gender and sexuality, both explicitly and implicitly. These projects mostly employ non-binary and female perspectives. In Boys Just Want To Have Fun, Aloni delves into homoeroticism and toxic masculinity, examining how these influence the perception of male identity in modern society. The performance embodies post-humanist-feminist agenda through deconstruction and redefinition of the male.

Boys Just Want To Have Fun was developed through research residencies at Nau Ivanow (Barcelona, Spring 2023) and EIMA Creation Center (Mallorca, Fall 2023). The creation process took place during Summer and Fall 2024, with a premiere at Belgrade Pride Week, 1-3 September 2024, co-produced by Heartefact and supported by the Culture Moves Europe program of the European Union.

Boys Just Want To Have Fun - 2025 European Tour

Boys Just Want to Have Fun was selected by Perform Europe for international touring in 2025. The performance was presented at Frölunda Kulturhus in Gothenburg, Sweden on June 15, and at Forum Box in Helsinki, Finland from July 31 to August 2, 2025.

Next presentations include TOU Scene in Stavanger, Norway on September 25–27, United Cowboys Art House in Eindhoven, The Netherlands (as part of Dutch Design Week) on October 23–25, and KHIDI Club by Circe Platform in Tbilisi, Georgia on 13-15 November.

Prior to the performances, Aloni and the performers engage in a week-long site-specific adaptation residency at every location and space. During this time, Aloni leads workshops with both professionals and non-professionals in collaboration with local artists, LGBTQIA+ organisations, and the public, followed by open rehearsals. This process offers audiences the opportunity to engage with the creative journey, contribute to the localised evolution of the work, and foster transcultural exchange.