Ferenc Balcaen

Please, Open the Curtains will premiere at NTGent in late October 2026. It is Balcaen’s second production as a creator and director in the professional circuit. In recent years, he has already made a name for himself with his debut Scapegoat that premiered at the CARTA festival in 2024. Scapegoat is a production by Balcaen and Muziektheater Transparant and has been staged in Ghent (NTGent, CAMPO), Kortrijk (Buda), Antwerp (De Singel) and Leuven (STUK), among other venues.

Balcaen graduated in 2022 from the Drama – Directing programme at RITCS in Brussels with the performance Tristis, inspired by The Garden of Earthly Delights by Jheronimus Bosch. In 2023, he worked as assistant director for Aïda Gabriëls on the opera Cambio, composed by Frank Nuyts and premiered during the Ghent Festival of Flanders. 

In 2024, Balcaen collaborated on the performance Joy Boy, a tribute to Julius Eastman and a creation by Collectif Faire-Part and S.E.M Ensemble. In that same year, he worked as assistant director for Aïda Gabriëls on Inner Life, composed by Wim Henderickx. In 2025, he collaborated with composer Siebe Thijs on the performance Pelgrimage, which premiered at De Singel (Antwerp, BE).