2. How to make room for more people to make decisions?

The question ‘How to Be Many?’ is about voices, stories and bodies. Many of them. In one society. In one city. In one theatre. A theatre by and for many.

In line with this thought, the programme of this season has been prepared by a lot of different people: Katleen Van Langendonck, who had shaped the Kaaitheater programme together with Guy Gypens since 2008, passed on to the new team a precious first list of names and projects; then, the current artistic team of Kaaitheater came up with a second part; and finally, we (the new coordinators of Kaaitheater) decided to expand our partnerships and invited several Brussels-based organizations or individuals to make a third part of this programme. We are grateful that they accepted our invitation and shared their visions, desires and concerns with us; after all, it is through those collaborations that we can learn how to share spaces, time and budget with others.

All this could mean for you, dear audience, that in this season’s programme at Kaaitheater, there will be some parts that will be very familiar and some other parts that you’ve never seen before. There will be names you will know and others that you will discover for the first time. But mainly (and, consequently), there will be more perspectives and experiences nurturing our programme. The spectrum of narratives and artistic practices will be expanded. We believe this is what our society, our city and our theatre urgently need today.

This is a learning path. How to make room for more people to make decisions, more voices to be heard, more bodies to be visible on stage, more stories to be told?

– AGNES QUACKELS & BARBARA VAN LINDT