After finishing school, Van Bavel started studying theatre therapy at the HAN University of Applied Sciences, where he graduated with a degree in 2003.

[1] In 2005, after ending his contract with the Efteling, Van Bavel founded his own theatre company De Zingende Decoupeerzaag and was preparing to tour the Netherlands with a comedy play.

In this email, which he wrote under the pseudonym "Adje van Nispen", he asked the board whether he and his fanfare orchestra De Zingende Decoupeerzaag would be able to perform an ode to their conductor who had been celebrating his 50th anniversary.

[2] The editorial board of the programme did not research De Zingende Decoupeerzaag, thought the request was real and decided to invite the group to one of the broadcasts.

During the broadcast, Paul de Leeuw turned towards Van Bavel, who had dressed himself up in a classic orange fanfare costume and asked him about his request.

Van Bavel acted visibly confused and failed to remember quite why he and his fanfare had ended up in the show, creating a lot of laughter among the audience.

[4] De Leeuw also ordered all information about Van Bavel to be removed online to create the illusion that Adje was a genuine person and not an act.

In 2009, Tilburg mayor Ruud Vreeman offered Van Bavel to create a "theatre for the people" in an empty cinema in the city.