Shakespeare is dead festival

Shakespeare is dead is the only festival in the Dutch-speaking world that focuses on the art of playwriting. The festival puts contemporary Dutch-language playwrights in the spotlight, both for Dutch-speaking audiences and in an international context. It is also a meeting place for discovering works from other languages and cultures.

The first edition of the festival took place in Leuven and has since alternated between Amsterdam and Leuven. This year it will take place in Leuven from 9 to 13 June, in the completely renovated Vaartkom at OPEK.

“What theatre work is being written in Europe today? What are the themes that matter? What narratives are we developing for the future? Shakespeare is dead, so let’s talk about what matters today. And tomorrow.” – Stijn Devillé (Het nieuwstedelijk)

The daytime programme is aimed at professionals; in Reading Rooms, texts come to life in staged readings. Emerging writers receive professional feedback during Spotlight Sessions, and at Scratchnights, participants jam with theatre texts.
In the evenings, theatre lovers can discover seven brand-new texts from every corner of Europe! 

Het Nieuwstedelijk is part of ‘Future Narratives for Planet Earth’, a European network of theatres collaborating to develop new stories about the relationship between humans and nature. The project’s main aim is to reimagine the future as a space full of possibilities.

As part of ‘Future Narratives’, seven new plays from seven different European countries will be created and presented in Leuven at Shakespeare is dead. A unique opportunity to discover theatre from Ukraine, Kosovo, Denmark, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Belgium.

09/06 CYBORG ORGY - The Last Show of the Anthropocene – Theater Nafta (UKR) – Liuba Ilnytska
10/06 ZOÉ - An Immersive Science Fiction Poem in the Post-Anthropocene – UniT (AT) – Lisa Horvath
10/06 LEBENLIFEHAYAT! – Hessisches Landestheater Marburg (DE) – Arad Dabiri
11/06 Landscape with Radioactive Dogs – Theater Bellevue (NL) – Espen Hjort
12/06 PRISHTINA. The Premeditated Killing of a Dream. – Qendra Multimedia (XK) – Jet