[Theatre in] The Netherlands

The contribution to theatre in the Netherlands starts with portraying some of the social and artistic conditions by which the Dutch theatre and dance field was able to become so innovative and open to experimentation. Then it focuses on two pioneers, first in mainstream theatre and secondly in the black box circuit, the so-called flat floor theatre in Dutch. A provocative predecessor to director Ivo van Hove, the 1990s witnessed how enfant terrible Gerardjan Rijnders crushed the aesthetic conventions of the proscenium arch and introduced what came to be known as ‘montage theatre’. Meanwhile, in the black box, Maatschappij Discordia radical experimented with text and acting, through collage, transparency, profound playfulness and a dramaturgical mindset and does so until this day. The essay closes with brief discussions of exciting makers in the new millennium who share an interest in space and perception: Dries Verhoeven, Lotte van den Berg and Julian Hetzel.