You Are Here

‘Movement’ was the key word for Theaterfestival Boulevard ’s-Hertogenbosch 2019. Artists and performers, mindful of our motto You Are Here, positioned themselves firmly and plotted a course, pointing our visitors to possible directions each of our eleven days. Opting to set things in motion, responding to our indefinable times. It resulted in a cutting-edge programme. 

The new festival hotspot BLVR&D was an invitation to think out loud and act. We will be developing the concept further over the coming years. The BLVR&D organisation called people to action and discussed topical issues with visitors and artists. 

And So Were We

The wide range of 103 shows on the programme contained work from the Netherlands and abroad, with a strong Flemish component and injections of artistic flavour from (inter)national productions such as #minaret by Omar Rajeh / Maqamat [LBN], Augusto by Alessandro Sciarroni [IT], Forever by Tabea Martin [CH], True Copy by Berlin [BE], [.....] by Theater Artemis [NL], Ghost Writer and the Broken Hand Break by Miet Warlop [BE] and De Living by NTGent / Ersan Mondtag [BE]. 

Audiences embraced the many striking site-specific productions such as  Craquelé by Studio Orka [BE], Bloomsbury by Florian Myjer & Kim Karssen [NL], Seeking Unicorns by Chiara Bersani [IT], Signaal bij Haanwijk by Strijbos & Van Rijswijk [NL], Broeders - De Val van Den Bosch by Alexander de Bruijn [NL], Party Dialogues by Theater Artemis and Dries Verhoeven’s Happiness. 

Our audience 

One thing that has definitely struck our artists and the many professionals who visited us from everywhere in the world: the gusto with which Boulevard’s audiences tackle the programme. More than ever before, our audiences showed their generous involvement. They came in droves: we counted 140,000 visitors this year and sold more than 60,000 tickets. Boulevard saw a marked increase in visits for multiple days, due in part to the earlier opening of the festival terrain and earlier time slots for shows. 

The festival as an exercise in democracy 

The upstairs level of Theater aan de Parade was home to BLVR&D: a new place for research and encounters. In conversations with various groups, Boulevard tackled issues on the cutting edge of art and society, always departing from the same key question: how to live together. With BLVR&D, Boulevard is shaping its views on the role the performing arts play within society. An exercise in contemporary democracy, a laboratory for hearts, minds and hopes, shaped by and for all. 

Welcome to all 

Once again, Boulevard aimed to be accessible to all this year. Deploying sign language interpreters and audio description, investing in wheelchair accessibility and programmes aimed at modest budgets. A new feature was Sensory Sensitivity Monday, which welcomed in a more serene setting people who can be easily overstimulated by the festival’s hustle and bustle. All of these initiatives have helped Boulevard’s audiences become increasingly diverse in terms of age and background. 

Welcome to join us from 6th - 16th of august 2020.