Articles

Repertoire, ensemble and internationalization in Flemish city-theatres in the 2010s 

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Abstract

There are not many elements that are as important for the reputation of an organization or institution today as internationalization, and there are not many elements that have as many artistic and economic strategies and issues. This is especially true in Flanders, a small region that often lacks enough (domestic) presentation opportunities for its artists (Janssens 2017a). It has also experienced drastic changes that have made artists look outwards, away from any purely Flemish repertoire, and brought with it a desire for more horizontal ways of creating instead of relying on fixed ensembles. If this field has one burden, it is specifically the legacy of the Flemish Wave and the theatre collectives. This has put the region’s three city-theatres in a difficult situation, where they, starting in the 2000s, have felt the need to answer to the needs of the field and do something about their reputation as old-fashioned institutions. Dealing with new aesthetics, new social-political philosophies, and changes in artistic direction, all three have taken different paths to negotiate their value for the Flemish performing arts scene. Internationalization is one of the needs in the Flemish field that are most at odds with the traditional mission of national theatres but has nonetheless been an important aspect in the 2010s for the city-theatres. Instead of serving as strong anchors in the theatre scene, they themselves have looked at an alternative way of existing in the nation. Internationalization thus becomes a way of negotiating the position of the institution in the field. 

Keywords: internationalization, city-theaters, institutional dramaturgy, repertoire, ensemble

How to Cite:

Vercauteren, L., (2025) “Repertoire, ensemble and internationalization in Flemish city-theatres in the 2010s ”, Documenta 42(2): 2, 23–46. doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/documenta.91570