Programme ’26
The jury report of het TheaterFestival offers a sharp annual overview of the state of affairs in Flemish and Brussels theatre. Which themes emerged, which forms surprised, and which voices stood out? The jury analyses the most important trends in the performing arts and explains why these particular productions were selected for the festival. Each production is accompanied by a brief synopsis and the reasoning behind its selection. Ideal reading material for anyone wishing to reflect on the past theatre season or look ahead to what’s to come.
Jury Report 2026 | Theatre Ablaze, Against the Current
While we doomscrolled our way through an endless stream of crisis communication, the performing arts sought refuge this past season in images of a different order, images you could not click away, that went against the feed. More than ever, thought reached this season for an image, a space, a body.
And what bodies. It was an exceptionally fertile year for dance, with performances in which bodies did far more than simply move: they fought for visibility, danced to the very limit, held one another and lifted one another up. At the same time, theatre in 2026 became total art in earnest, with scenography, light, sound, costume and performance carrying equal weight as fellow players, and rarely the work of a single maker. For above all, the jury saw a season of collective creation, shared authorship, and large groups forming a single artistic whole.
Jury Report 2024 | Theatre in Self-Examination
Actors usually play characters. But this past season, we saw a surprising number of characters who turned out to be actors: actors at auditions, in rehearsals, in dressing rooms—or simply in a performance where everything goes off the rails or scenes must constantly be repeated. Funny, certainly. Sometimes even delightfully over the top. But also, in a way, a little sad. Strikingly often, these portrayed players were neurotic figures riddled with doubt, sometimes tyrannized by a toxic or tormented director who no longer seemed to have the answers either.
Strange, isn’t it? Elektra Unbound by Luanda Casella at NTGent, Diarree is mijn lievelingskleur by Theater Artemis and Studio Julian Hetzel, Opening Night by De HOE, and so many other productions between May 2023 and April 2024 gleefully pulled back the curtain. What does it say about theatre when it so ironically portrays itself as a world of abuse, loneliness, and the urge to prove oneself? What is going on in theatre that it so often becomes a metaphor for itself?
[Read more in the full jury report. Only available in Dutch]