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| Ontroerend Goed | |
|---|---|
| Name | Ontroerend Goed |
| Founded | 2005 |
| Location | Ghent |
| Genre | theatre |
Ontroerend Goed is a Flemish theatre company founded in Ghent in 2005. The company is known for producing site-specific, experimental performance art that has toured across Europe, North America, and Asia. Its work often intersects with practices from contemporary dance, film, and visual arts and has been featured at festivals such as the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Avignon Festival, and the Biennale di Venezia.
Ontroerend Goed was established in Ghent by a group of artists emerging from conservatoires and art schools, drawing on networks associated with institutions like the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Ghent). Early residencies linked the company to venues such as De Singel, Kaaitheater, and La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club. International exposure grew after appearances at the Theaterfestival and landmark festivals including the Venice Biennale and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, enabling tours to cultural centers like Berlin, Paris, London, New York City, and Tokyo. Collaborations and co-productions have involved organisations such as Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Festival d'Avignon, Sadler's Wells, and Zentrum für Kunst und Medien. The group’s trajectory intersects with movements in European independent theatre and exchanges with companies like Forced Entertainment, Complicité, and Wooster Group.
The company's aesthetic combines structured dramaturgy with improvisatory elements influenced by practitioners such as Grotowski, Jerzy Grotowski, and Pina Bausch, while drawing on conceptual frameworks from artists like Marina Abramović and filmmakers such as David Lynch and Andrei Tarkovsky. Recurring themes include identity, ritual, memory, and human behavior, refracted through formats inspired by game theory-inflected performance and interactive works reminiscent of Site-specific art and immersive theatre pioneered at venues like Punchdrunk productions at The Old Vic. Their staging strategies evoke choreographic logic seen in William Forsythe and narrative fragmentation akin to Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter. Visual references align with artists such as Francis Bacon and Anselm Kiefer, while soundscapes recall composers like John Cage and Philippe Glass.
Notable works include productions that have become staples on the international circuit and have been presented at institutions such as Festival d'Avignon, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Holland Festival, Performa, and Brooklyn Academy of Music. Their repertoire features pieces performed in unconventional contexts—public spaces, galleries, and industrial sites—evoking site-based projects like those by Robert Wilson and Tadeusz Kantor. Tours have taken Ontroerend Goed to cultural landmarks including Barbican Centre, Festival Internacional Cervantino, Sydney Opera House, and Teatro Real. The company’s productions have been discussed alongside works by Thomas Ostermeier and Ivo van Hove for their redefinition of theatrical audience engagement.
Core creators have included directors, dramaturges, choreographers, and designers educated at institutions such as the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp, University of Ghent, and LUCA School of Arts. Collaborators have spanned international artists and collectives including Marina Abramović, Michaël Borremans, Erwin Olaf, and companies like Schlingensief ensembles, as well as technicians from venues like Royal Opera House and Het Toneelhuis. The company has also worked with festival curators from Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Avignon Festival, and cultural funders such as Flanders Arts Institute and the European Cultural Foundation.
Critical response has ranged from acclaim in publications like The Guardian, Le Monde, Die Zeit, The New York Times, and The Telegraph to debate in specialist journals and platforms such as Frieze, Theatre Journal, and TDR (The Drama Review). Praise has highlighted the company’s inventiveness and international touring profile, while criticism has interrogated issues of accessibility, narrative opacity, and aesthetic elitism in forums including Europalia panels, Critics’ Circle discussions, and academic conferences at institutions like Goldsmiths, University of London and Université Paris VIII. Reviews often situate Ontroerend Goed in conversation with avant-garde currents traced to Dada, Surrealism, and postdramatic theatre debates led by scholars such as Hans-Thies Lehmann.
The company and its productions have received prizes and nominations at events such as the festival awards of Edinburgh Festival Fringe, BIE (Biennale Internationale de l'Image en Mouvement), and national distinctions from bodies like the Flemish Community cultural awards and recognitions linked to institutions including Playwrights’ Studio and European Theatre Convention. Individual collaborators have been shortlisted for honors from the Laurence Olivier Awards, Molière Awards, and regional prizes administered by organisations such as Vlaams Theater Festival and Culture Ireland.
Ontroerend Goed’s hybrid practice has influenced younger European companies and educational programmes at conservatoires like Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and Conservatoire National Supérieur d'Art Dramatique, inspiring approaches to immersive staging and participatory formats seen in newer collectives across Belgium, Netherlands, France, and United Kingdom. Its touring model and festival presence have contributed to circuit-building between platforms such as Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Festival d'Avignon, and Edinburgh Festival Fringe, shaping dialogues in contemporary performance studies at universities including University of Oxford and University of California, Berkeley.
Category:Theatre companies Category:Belgian performing arts groups