Endless Summer Camp: Scout Rules Meet Queer Desire at Balsamine

Summer might be over, but Sophie Guisset has other plans. From 19 to 28 November 2026, her new creation, Endless Summer Camp, brings an imagined camp for grown-ups to La Balsamine in Schaerbeek. Mixing theatre and performance, it reworks the rituals of youth camps around desire, transgression and collective joy—a proposition for anyone curious about how we might learn to belong differently.

A different kind of troop

Summer camps come with familiar instructions: join the group, learn the rules, take part in the rituals. In Endless Summer Camp, those structures become material for something less predictable.

Drawing on her own experience of scouting, Sophie Guisset imagines a temporary troupe of performers exploring desire and new alliances together. The camp is a utopian setting for adults, where the shared experiences of a retreat can become an opportunity to question social taboos rather than reproduce them.

This is a staged creation, not an invitation to sign up for a real residential camp. Its premise lies in that imaginative shift: what happens when the machinery of group belonging is put to work in the service of pleasure and freedom?

Transgression with a light touch

Guisset’s approach leaves room for humour. The production presents desires that might ordinarily be hidden or labelled “perverse” with delicacy and pride, turning shame into an opening for play. Rather than treating transgression as an exercise in shock, it explores the vulnerability involved in inventing different ways to relate to one another.

That balance is what makes the concept intriguing. A camp can suggest discipline and conformity, but also friendship, discovery and the possibility of becoming someone new. Endless Summer Camp draws on both sides, asking what collective life could look like if its rules were not already fixed.balsamine+1

Belonging without fitting in

For queer audiences, the idea of revisiting formative group rituals can carry particular weight. Many of us recognise the tension between wanting to belong and feeling that belonging requires editing ourselves. Here, the imagined group becomes a place to explore desire rather than conceal it.

The show’s relevance to LGBTQIA+ people lies in that possibility: community need not depend on everyone following the same script. Its utopian camp offers an artistic space to think about freedom, intimacy and unfamiliar alliances—without pretending that changing how we live together is effortless.

There is also an opportunity to take the camp theme beyond the auditorium. Balsamine lists an ornithological walk in Schaerbeek alongside the creation, inviting participants to rediscover a scout-like curiosity about their surroundings. Check the separate event listing for its arrangements.

Practical information

• What: Endless Summer Camp, a new theatre and performance creation by Sophie Guisset.
• Dates: 19–28 November 2026, on selected evenings. Performances on 19, 20 and 21 November are listed at 8 pm; later start times vary, so consult the programme and booking page.visit+2
• Where: La Balsamine, Avenue Félix Marchal 1, 1030 Schaerbeek. The production is co-presented with Les Halles de Schaerbeek.
• Language: English with French surtitles.
• Age guidance: From 16. Although the fictional camp is for adults, the venue’s audience recommendation is 16+.
• Double bill: For performances from 24 to 28 November, a pass allows audiences to see both Stone and Endless Summer Camp on the same evening. Check availability and prices when booking.
• Access information: Specific accessibility arrangements were not available in the retrieved event information; check with Balsamine before booking if you have particular requirements.

A campfire without the usual rulebook: Endless Summer Camp offers a reason to head to Schaerbeek this November—and imagine what another kind of togetherness might feel like.

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