Histoire(s) du théâtre

Histoire(s) du Théâtre is a series of new productions commissioned by NTGent, the city theatre of Ghent. The title refers to the documentary Histoire(s) du Cinéma by the French filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard, in which he gave the film audience an overview of the key moments in the history of European cinema. Inspired by his generous example, NTGent invites a director to reflect on theatre as an art form.

The series was launched by Milo Rau, artistic director of NTGent, with La Reprise. This show was first performed at the KunstenfestivaldesArts in Brussels in May 2018 and has since toured Europe, including a series in Avignon, France.

 The renowned Congolese choreographer Faustin Linyekula then created Histoire(s) du Théâtre II, including a re-enactment of a famous dance performance from the 1970s by the Congolese National Ballet, with some of the original performers.

Third in line was the Spanish director Angélica Liddell. In Liebestod - Histoire(s) du Théâtre III, Liddell herself was on stage, exploring her fundamental ideas about the theatre, tragedy and its importance. This show premiered in Avignon in July 2021.

The Belgian artist Miet Warlop created Histoire(s) du Théâtre IV. The production ONE SONG  was one of the absolute revelations of the Festival d'Avignon in July 2022 and is touring Europe since.

During the 2023-2024 season, NTGent invites English artist and writer Tim Etchells for Histoire(s) du Théâtre V. For the title of his contribution, the British theatre legend chose a phrase from Shakespeare's Macbeth. In How Goes The World, four performers engage in an absurd orgy of rising and falling, sound cues and feverish memories.

For the sixth edition, Portuguese director Tiago Rodrigues comes to Ghent. In No Yogurt for the Dead - Histoire(s) du Théâtre VI, Rodrigues honours the memory of his father who started writing a book in his last days in hospital. After he died, however, the notebook turned out to contain only a few lines and dots. Therefore, Rodrigues wants to depict the unwritten pages of his father's last work.