Stand-by Bourla! We are rediscovering what a special place the Bourla Theatre actually is. A place in the heart of Antwerp with almost 200 years of artistic and social history, a building that has grown with the city and bears the traces of that historical development in its architecture: from French-language opera to Dutch-language theatre to the often multilingual and multidisciplinary shows of today. But for many people, it is also a place that evokes very personal and emotional memories. In an exhibition about the Bourla at the end of the 2025-2026 season, we will be telling those artistic and architectural, social and personal stories at length.

We live in a troubled world. That is the least you can say. For some time now, the possibility of war in our part of the world has even become a topic of political discussion to be taken seriously. The atmosphere of our society is characterized by a growing polarization, an intensifying lack of nuance, an increasingly aggressive and intolerant use of language, an unwillingness to put oneself in the other’s shoes… Unfortunately, all of this has been said before: the social fabric is fraying. 

We believe that theatre can play an important part in this troubled world. Not lastly because it brings people together. The need for places where communication occurs in a different, more open and generous manner is great; we work hard to make our theatre such a place. All of our shows, the ones we create ourselves and the ones we invite, all the debates and events we organize, are also proposals to look at the world and interact with it in a different manner: more imaginatively, critically, playfully, ironically and inclusively, with more empathy and feeling for community.

We stand in the midst of society with our shows. The viewpoints espoused by our new creations could not be more clear: war and the (im)possibility of its depiction (Guernica Guernica); the ongoing normalization of an alarmingly extremist body of thought (Voor het pensioen); the universal need to celebrate as an antidote to individualism (Chapters of Celebration); a radical account of women’s sacrifices (a rite of spring); a connecting musical project with the sounds of the city (Symphony for one hundred citizens and a traffic light); the violence of a breakup (ALL TOGETHER NOW!); and the departure of old ghosts in order to let the future finally begin (Give Up, Old Ghosts!). 

We continue to believe in the power of bringing people together for a performance: an experience that is undergone communally and then evaluated individually. A performance as a proposal, as a topic of conversation and discussion, as an occasion for inspiration and emotion, as a possibility for dreams and imagination. 

We are also standing by this season.
FC Bergman, Olympique Dramatique, Benjamin Abel Meirhaeghe, Görges Ocloo, Lisaboa Houbrechts