De Pauw (Engels) - depot voor het VTi

josse de pauw
simplicity does not mean superficial identifiability or unambiguousness;
the point was to clarify the content by exploration using
language and form. This quest for a way of communication
which, although theatrical, was not intended to be aestheticising,
coincided with the urge to make plays that were not hermetic.
The aim of Laagland was to build up a repertoire of performances
that were easy to tour, even beyond the Dutch-speaking
boundaries. The pleasure of acting and the urge to reach a broader
audience (in both numbers and location) went hand in hand.
What is more, Laagland did not present itself as a purely theatrical
organisation, but wished to be active in several areas at the
same time: theatre, film, television and literature. Some of the
basic principles (breakdown of boundaries, interdisciplinary
work, the freedom of the artist) were already to be found in the
organisation of Radeis and Schaamte.
A fine example of the operation of Laagland was the monologue
De Wijze van zaal 7 by the Dutch photographer Hans
Aarsman. Three major storytellers were behind the production:
Dirk Roofthooft acted, Tom Jansen directed and Josse De Pauw
was responsible for the dramaturgy. Despite the success of plays
like this, which was invited to the 1996 Theatre Festival,
Laagland’s request for operational subsidy from the Dutch and
Flemish authorities (8.9 and 12.8 million BEF respectively) was
rejected. The advisory boards advised against it because it was
too thinly spread over time (2 productions per year), because the
audience reached was too small, the use of people and resources
was uneconomical and, in addition, the use of subsidies for
reflective work was not even recognised by the Dutch system.
This meant that Laagland was not able to develop to the full and
for the time being De Pauw’s room at the Kaaitheater boarding
house remained occupied. In 1997 Hugo De Greef decided to
leave the Kaaitheater and this meant the start of a new period in
the structural and artistic aspects of De Pauw’s work too.
‘After the change of director, Kaaitheater also took an artistic
turn. With the new team we have sought ways of working
together, because that is what we all wanted. But it is not different:
I am one of the old guard, and then it is not so evident to go
along with the changes. I also had the feeling I would repeat the
same stories there. At Victoria that need not happen. I shall be
able to do there what I want to.’ 21 This was De Pauw’s comment
48 / Kritisch Theater Lexicon - 14 e - August 2001
structural and artistic context
on his 1999 decision to move to the Victoria theatre production
company, led by his former Radeis colleague Dirk Pauwels in
Ghent. After five interim presentations before an audience, he
came up with Larf, his biggest production to date. Apart from
the name of the producer, there appeared to be no sign of a break
with his past at the Kaaitheater, especially since his favourite performers
also moved from Brussels to East Flanders for the occasion.
But in fact he did not work at Victoria for very long. In the
end, the offer to take over the leadership, from 2000 on, of the
former Theater De Korre in Bruges, now called HetNet, provided
him with more opportunities for doing the things he really
wanted.
Once again it was Hugo De Greef who presented De Pauw
with a decisive choice in his career. After leaving Kaaitheater and
being appointed as intendant of Bruges 2002, De Greef was
asked by the director of Theater De Korre, Robrecht De
Spiegelaere, to look for a replacement for the then incumbent,
Bob De Moor. This is how De Pauw’s name came up, and he,
after some hesitation, accepted on condition that he could adapt
the function of artistic director entirely to suit himself. Just as
had happened previously with Laagland, HetNet’s application
for subsidy was at first also rejected by the performing arts advisory
board. After a review, however, it did in the end qualify for
aid from the Flemish Community.
Almost all the artists with whom he had in the past established
ties will also find themselves working at HetNet: the actors Tom
Jansen and Dirk Roofthooft, the director Peter Van Kraaij, the
composer Peter Vermeersch, sculptor Koenraad Tinel and many
others. The dramaturge Marianne Van Kerkhoven, who had
until then supervised most of De Pauw’s productions, also moved
to Bruges. ‘Josse De Pauw was never able to settle in the major
hierarchical theatre establishments,’ she wrote in the introduction
to the 2000 season brochure. ‘This is a perfect working setting
for him, a sort of collective with a constantly changing set of
people in which his creations and those of his artistic friends will
be able to thrive with the greatest possible freedom.’ 22
49 / Kritisch Theater Lexicon - 14 e - August 2001