Meet the nominees

 
The jury of the 2025 Toneelschrijfprijs – Els Van Steenberghe, Nina van Tongeren and Thomas Lamers – selected three distinctive plays from no fewer than 97 submissions. Each text tells its own story with a unique voice and style, and premiered for the first time in the Low Countries between January 1 and December 31, 2024.

That means 97 potential homes to live in. Because “this is a text you’d want to live in” rose above all other criteria during the final jury meeting in an idyllic canal house bathed in Amsterdam sunshine. The jury sought an original, unique work – perfectly imperfect – that breathes urgency in every word. A text where every letter and punctuation mark is a tribute to the craft of writing.

Reading so many scripts feels like a journey through time and space. You live alongside ex-drug dealers, soon-to-be mothers, property developers, women recovering from traumatic boundary crossings, people in war zones, houses with talking walls, farmers, and the funeral industry. You meet Schopenhauer, Iphigenia, Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, James Ensor and Tupac Shakur. You’re whisked away to Japan, Alabama or India. You feel bottomless loneliness, immense joy, and all-consuming lust for power. You briefly become a millionaire, a dictator, or a soulless Faust. And after each trip, slightly breathless, you look out the window – and you realize the world hasn’t changed. You have. Your view of the world has become richer, sharper, softer, more playful.

Writing is an underestimated profession, one jury member remarked. The 97 texts prove just how meaningful writing is. But three of them fully embody the power of writing – as art, as a statement, as a necessity, as play, as encounter, as anchor, as safe haven in stormy times.

Below are the nominees, listed alphabetically by the author’s first name, each with a fragment from the script and a quote from the jury report.

‘Wunderbaum speelt live (online gaat het mis)’ by Annelies Verbeke

Image © Sofie Knijff

“I only wanted to avoid ending up on my own again this time, doing all the Instagram for cakes and pies!!!” (p. 7)

/ “That’s what I keep telling others, as a teacher and coach: believe in yourself, be yourself, take care of yourself, take your time, don’t be so hard on yourself. But what does that even mean?! (…) I have no idea what that means! I no longer know who I am!”

“Don’t do it!” you think while reading the first page – immediately realizing you’re caught in a seemingly banal WhatsApp conversation. But Verbeke knows exactly what she’s doing. That chat turns into a classroom discussion between parents about bullying – after a boy’s phone is thrown out the window. Teacher Jasper leads the discussion with great sensitivity and effectiveness, encouraging others to express themselves rationally. Eventually, Jasper cracks and recounts a horrific date gone wrong.

Verbeke writes at a furious pace. The script is a true page-turner. Her language seems ripped from reality – and it is – yet each word is meticulously chosen, making the text a joy to read, while also sharp, funny, and painfully relatable. She masterfully portrays the generational tension riddled with miscommunication. Every page is full of surprises – unpredictable, but never far-fetched.

‘Europese man, een kroniek’ by Carl von Winckelmann

Image © Yuri van der Hoeven

“here in Belgium they don’t know our story

they don’t have a name for what I am

so maybe I’m nothing here.

(….)

and you know: you are what you tell

so you hide behind

I can’t tell you

what I was never told”

Von Winckelmann gently takes the reader by the hand and leads them into his text, his world, his life. Now that he is a father himself, his longing to understand his own father’s stories and roots has only deepened. In a breathtakingly beautiful and deeply honest play, he writes with utmost care about this search.

He finds the right words to capture the essence of a colonial legacy and bi-cultural identity – specifically Flemish-Indonesian. His language sparkles and never loses its humor. Through this carefully composed voice, the personal becomes universal – a vital, urgent story that deserves to be widely read and performed.

‘Pygmalion, of de billen van het beeld’ by David Roos

Image © Ies Kaczmarek

‘(bar 306) A thought:

if beauty has stood on a pedestal

for twenty centuries

from Ovid to Bilthoven – Beethoven

if beauty is a cathedral I live in

if you’ve believed for centuries

in the existence of beauty

resounding like trumpets

does beauty then exist?

and will she outlive

everyone who tries to topple her?

Take Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto, the Greek sculptor Pygmalion who fell in love with his own statue, and David Roos’ queer worldview. As odd as that combination may sound, it works brilliantly in Roos’ script. The piece was born from listening to Beethoven’s Concerto – every word corresponds to a musical bar.

And yet this isn’t alienating or contrived, but a dazzling, compelling, funny, and deeply urgent text (and reading experience), thanks to Roos’ sublime pen. He reveals himself as both a person yearning for perfect love and as a playwright whose language – drenched in humor, poetry, and desire – results in a unique work of theatre: philosophical yet accessible, aesthetic yet entertaining. Sexy, witty, and multilayered!

About the Toneelschrijfprijs

 
The Toneelschrijfprijs aims to promote Dutch-language playwriting and the performance of Dutch-language theatre. The winner receives €10,000. The other nominees each receive €1,000.

The prize is a collaboration between Literatuur Vlaanderen, the Dutch Foundation for Literature, the Taalunie, and the Performing Arts Fund, with support from deAuteurs and the Lira Fund. The award will be presented during the Sectorprijzen at the TheaterFestival in Ghent.

Award Ceremony on September 9th at NTGent

 
For the first time ever, the red carpet is being rolled out for the Flemish performing arts: the Sectorprijzen are here! The TheaterFestival, the Actors’ Guild, the Toneelschrijfprijs, and city theatres NTGent, KVS and Toneelhuis unite for a sparkling gala evening celebrating the talent that brought the stage to life over the past year.

In a dazzling ceremony – think glitter, spotlights and a dash of Oscar flair – we honor the makers, actors, and writers who shaped the performing arts. Prizes will be awarded for Best Acting Performance +35, -35, Best Ensemble, the Toneelschrijfprijs 2025, the Roel Verniers Prize and a Lifetime Achievement Award.

The creative minds of WOLF WOLF are curating this night and promise a surprising and festive experience that pays true tribute to the magic of theatre. Naturally, the evening ends in style with a swinging reception: a drink in hand, music in the air, and stories that will linger long after.

Location: NTGent
Date: September 9th
Time: 6 – 7 P.M.

In collaboration with Amplo and The Mocktail Club. Co-presented by: Het TheaterFestival, the Actors’ Guild, the Toneelschrijfprijs, NTGent, KVS and Toneelhuis.