Milo Rau Directorship of the NTGent beginning in the 2018/19 season

As the National Theatre Ghent announced at a press conference the 27th april, the Swiss author and director Milo Rau will assume the directorship of the NTGent beginning in the 2018/19 season. Rau is to succeed the Dutch stage director Johan Simons in the role of the theatre’s artistic director. Rau’s directorial team will include Stefan Bläske, house dramaturg at IIPM, and Steven Heene, the artistic coordinator of NTGent.  

NTGent is the largest ensemble theatre in the Flemish-speaking world. It stages productions in its home theatre building, the Koninklijke Nederlandse Schouwburg (Royal Dutch Theatre), built in 1899, as well as at its Arca and Minnemeers locations. In addition to hosting an extensive programme of guest performances, NTGent has mounted numerous outstanding productions in recent years, including, for example, ‘Platonov’ by Luk Perceval, ‘Tauberbach’ by Alain Platel, and les ballets C de la B, or ‘Gift’, by Johan Simons. In assuming the directorship of NTGent, Rau and IIPM are establishing a constant presence in the Belgo-Dutch region. Their work here began in 2012 with ‘Hate Radio’, a co-production with the Beursschouwburg in Brussels that had an engagement at the Berlin Theatertreffen. Since then, their relationship with this region has been intensified through further productions, including, among others, ‘The Civil Wars’ and the Ghent production ‘Five Easy Pieces’, which has also been invited to this year’s Berlin Theatertreffen.

In addition to two international productions by Rau and IIPM, the works planned for the opening season of 2018/19 include, among others, a piece under the direction of Luk Perceval and a children’s play that picks up where ‘Five Easy Pieces’ leaves off. The preparatory season of 2017/18 at NTGent will feature the joint IIPM productions ‘General Assembly’ (world premier November 2017, Schaubühne, Berlin) and ‘Histoire du Théâtre’ (world premier May 2018, Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Brussels). In their new capacity, Rau and his team in Ghent will continue their intensive pursuit of a global realism – seeking to develop a theatre of the future that connects the local with the European, and the municipal theatre with international tours.

You will find the press release from NTGent here.

We look forward to this new endeavour, as well as to our continuing work with our current partners, sponsors, and the theatre companies with whom we collaborate.