and then the doors opened again – David Weber-Krebs

and then the doors opened again is a publication, edited by David Weber-Krebs. It is a collective act of imagination about the ossible futures of theatre written from the moment of the Covid-19 lockdown.

The project brings together 75 visions by artists, scholars, curators and spectators, created in response to a question sent to them by David Weber-Krebs in the middle of the first wave of Covid-19 in Europe: What will happen on your first theatre visit after the lockdown? While being confined at home, David found himself thinking about the day when theatres would open their doors again. It somehow seemed impossible to picture this moment.

On April 8, 2020, he sent an e-mail to his peers and asked them a simple question: What will happen on your first theatre visit after the lockdown? It was an invitation to imagine the future of theatre from this very specific moment when theatres were closed and it was not clear how, and when and even if they would open again. and then the doors opened again is a compilation of imaginings about the future of theatre and a handbook for theatre after Covid-19.

With contributions by
Paula Almiron, Kristof van Baarle, Sven Age Birkeland, Antonia Baehr, Caroline Barneaud, Nicole Beutler, Maaike Bleeker, Julien Bruneau, Pieter De Buysser, Alondra Castellanos Arreola, Chloé Chignell, Amélie Coster, Jasper Delbecke, Zoë Demoustier, Wouter De Raeve,  Charlotte De Somviele, Katja Dreyer, Jeroen Fabius, Silvia Fanti, far°, Nicolas Galeazzi, Emilie Gallier, Nada Gambier, Melih Gencboyaci, Konstantina Georgelou, Kristof van Gestel, Matthieu Goeury, Maximilian Haas, Ant Hampton, David Helbich, Marijke Hoogenboom, Rita Hoofwijk, Breg Horemans, Asa Horvitz, Dolores Hulan, Mette Ingvartsen, Myriam Van Imschoot and Marcus Bergner (MM), Stefan Kaegi, Edyta Kozak, Bojana Kunst, Rudi Laermans, Sarah van Lamsweerde, Heike Langsdorf, Mylène Lauzon, André Lepecki, Kopano Maroga, Ivana Müller, Phoebe Osborne, Leonie Persyn, Julie Pfleiderer, Antoine Pickels, Amanda Piña, Jan-Philipp Possmann, Fransien van der Putt, Irena Radmanovic, Anna Rispoli, Martina Ruhsam, Jonas Rutgeerts, Nienke Scholts, Ula Sickle, Michael Simon, Karoline Skuseth, Lara Staal, Christel Stalpaert, Danae Theodoridou, Pankaj Tiwari, Vera Tussing, Marie Urban, Michiel Vandevelde, Hidde Aans Verkade, Mathilde Villeneuve, Georg Weinand, Stefanie Wenner, Siegmar Zacharias, Andros Zins-Browne.

About the editor
David Weber-Krebs (1974) is an artist and curator living in Brussels. He currently researches the position and the agency of the spectator in performances. He is interested in staged situations that are fragile, sometimes flirting with the brink of the uncontrollable, and hence  activating a sense of care and responsibility in the spectator. The situation people are currently experiencing, in which they have all become fragile and dangerous to one another, is bringing a new dimension to this research.
David Weber- Krebs is affiliated as an artistic researcher to KASK & Conservatorium, the school of arts of HOGENT and howest. The research project and then the doors opened again has been financed by the HOGENT Arts Research Fund.

concept and editing David Weber-Krebs | artistic assistance Simone Basani | design Bonsma & Reist (Bern/Brussels) | production Katrien Reist (arp: Brussels), Simone Basani | publisher Onomatopee (Eindhoven) | co-produced by ACT – Art, Climate, Transition (Kaaitheater & Theater Rotterdam), Kunstencentrum Vooruit, STUK Kunstencentrum, Buda Kunstencentrum, December Dance (Concertgebouw & Cultuurcentrum Brugge), BIT Teatergarasjen, Boulevard Festival, far°/Fabrique des Arts vivants, Cialo/Umysl, Zeitraumexit |
with the support of KASK/School of Arts and the Dutch Embassy, Brussels