In the performance Nieuw Babylon, theater collective Neo-fanfare 9×13 offers a playful counterpoint to the pressures of self-optimization and achievement culture in neoliberal times. As burnout and stress rise among both young people and adults, they advocate for wandering, daydreaming, and idling as ends in themselves. The fanfare in the piece embodies a society that has forgotten how to play, trapped in a relentless machine, until a disruption occurs. Music, ranging from structured frameworks to free, exuberant compositions, invites the audience to let go and rediscover the joy of simply being.