About the Jury

The jury of the Toneelschrijfprijs consists of three members, including one chair. The jury chair guides the decision-making process. The selection of the jury is based on the principle that the members are actively working in the performing arts. This year’s jury consists of Els Van Steenberghe (chair), Nina van Tongeren, and Thomas Lamers.

Els Van Steenberghe

Els Van Steenberghe (chair) studied Art and Theatre Sciences at the universities of Ghent, Antwerp, and Stellenbosch (South Africa). At the latter, she researched the legacy of Fred Engelen, who founded a theatre program there inspired by the theory of Herman Teirlinck.

She also conducted research into the portrayal of children in Dutch-language youth theatre and published the book Groot Toneel. Teksten over jeugdtheater (2002). She has written about performing arts and cultural policy in outlets such as De Morgen, Etcetera, and Documenta. Currently, she writes about (performing) arts for Knack, gives introductions to performances, and teaches repertoire studies at SAMW in Menen and Wevelgem.

Nina van Tongeren

Nina van Tongeren is a playwright and dramaturg at De Toneelmakerij. In 2022, she graduated from HKU with her final project Ndumbé en de Wolvenbende (9+) and a thesis on the importance of good representation. That same year, she wrote Naar Ndakaaru zwemmen (8+) for De Toneelmakerij and Urban Myth, a play about how the colonial past continues to influence the present.

For Theater aan de Rijn, she wrote Koekoeksnest (10+) in co-production with Theater Sonnevanck and Theater Oostpool—a classroom play about two sisters whose mother one morning climbs onto the roof. She won the 2024 Kaas & Kappes Prize for this text. In 2024, her first main stage play premiered: Giselle (8+), a radical adaptation of the classical ballet, focusing on social class.

Thomas Lamers

Thomas Lamers studied political philosophy and dramaturgy at the University of Amsterdam. Since 2013, he has worked as a dramaturg and theatre maker. Outside the Netherlands, he has worked in England, Germany, Austria, and Hungary—often on site, in forests, dunes, and meadows, but just as much in opera houses. He co-founded Collectief Walden and served as in-house dramaturg at House of Nouws and Ulrike Quade Company. Thomas has worked extensively with Toneelschuur Producties, collaborating with directors such as Eline Arbo, Abdel Daoudi, and Vanja Rukavina. He is currently a researcher and writer at Het Nationale Theater.

Thomas believes theatre can help us better understand our place in the world. At its best, theatre can help us navigate ecological change, justice, and societal developments—not only by being informative or political, but also by moving, inspiring, or unsettling us.

About the Toneelschrijfprijs

The Toneelschrijfprijs awards the author of an original Dutch-language play that had its first performance between January 1, 2024, and December 31, 2024. The award ceremony will take place in September 2025 during the TheaterFestival in Ghent. The prize includes a cash award of €10,000. The jury will announce its nominations in June 2025.

The Toneelschrijfprijs is a collaboration between the Dutch Language Union (Taalunie), Literature Flanders (Literatuur Vlaanderen), the Dutch Foundation for Literature, and the Performing Arts Fund NL, with support from the Lira Fund and deAuteurs. The practical organization alternates yearly between Literature Flanders and the Dutch Foundation for Literature, in partnership with the Performing Arts Fund. In 2025, it is Literature Flanders’ turn to take the lead.