Vincent Bijlo

Vincent Robert Bijlo (born April 27, 1965, in Amsterdam) is a Dutch cabaret comedian, columnist, and novelist. Blind from birth, he turned a personal experience that most performers never face into one of the most distinctive voices in Dutch cabaret, mixing autobiographical stand-up with songs at the piano, columns, and stage storytelling for more than three decades.

Being blind is not just a biographical fact for Bijlo but the lens through which he writes: his material constantly plays with sighted assumptions, well-meaning awkwardness, and the everyday absurdities of moving through a world built for the seeing. He educated in Huizen at the Royal Institute for the Education of the Visually Impaired and Blind, took his VWO in Bussum, and studied Dutch at Utrecht University from 1986 before leaving in 1988 for cabaret. He broke through at the Leids Cabaretfestival in 1988 and entered the theaters in 1989 with his debut Made in Braille, which he performed 250 times and turned into a book in 1990. Over 25 solo shows followed, including De Zeespiegel (1993), Scheve Bomen (1998), Kort Door De Bocht (2005), De Cultuuroptimist (2011), and Enkeltje Mars (2013). He plays piano, guitar, and drums since childhood and integrates music throughout his performances. Off stage he writes columns for Algemeen Dagblad, Utrechts Nieuwsblad, Straatnieuws, and monthly reportages for Trouw, and he has published four novels. He is a great-great-grandson of Dutch architect H. P. Berlage.

Vincent Bijlo continues to tour Dutch theaters with his solo cabaret and music programs. Booking and current dates are available through artiest.nu and his official site vincentbijlo.com. He performs regularly at theaters and cultural venues across the Netherlands and remains a recurring columnist and radio voice.