The return to the city center of 's-Hertogenbosch, the beautiful weather, 48,000 visitors to performances (37,000 tickets sold, 11,000 visitors to the free programming), and a total of 100,000 festival visitors are the crowning glory of the 40th anniversary of Theaterfestival Boulevard.

“A homecoming experienced by the team, the artists, and the visitors. Due to the central location of the heart of the festival at de Parade, more spontaneous passersby and day trippers were reached,” says managing director Dana Kibbelaar. “With a festival that has existed for forty years, you want to retain your loyal audience – in which we succeeded – but you also aim to broaden your audience.”

Boulevard 2024 welcomed 120 theatre companies. They offered a total of 588 performances, concerts, installations, and talk shows at the intersection of theatre, dance, music, and visual arts.

The programming was broad and diverse, with several productions at unconventional locations such as Landgoed Bleijendijk, the IJzergieterij (Tramkade), and the Catharinakerk. Boulevard 2024 called for the audience’s surrender. This was true for the ritualistic opening performance Karrasekare (Igor x Moreno), but also for, for instance, an intimate solo by Lebanese choreographer Omar Rajeh. Visitors could be initiated into the Dream Temple Memoria or the Realm of the Sick by iona&rineke. Festivalgoers were moved by Schweigman&, Laika, and Dries Verhoeven, got acquainted with Misiconi, and discovered the Bossche programming in Tent Paars – curated by Dukebox and choreographer Arjuna Vermeulen. Het Torenpodium, featuring a talk show, circus, dance, and bands in the evening, turned out to be a magnet for audiences of all ages.

Future Feels
For years, Theaterfestival Boulevard has had a partnership with Fontys Academy of the Arts (formerly known as ‘De Entreeprijs’) and Avans Creative Innovation. This year, they came together in one place (Pand 18) in one programme: Future Feels. The focus was on exchange and meeting: between new makers, their diverse disciplines, the field, the festival, and the audience. The newly graduated artists put together a surprising programme that attracted many visitors.

Accessible Festival
Boulevard pays a lot of attention to accessibility. In collaboration with the Onbeperkt Genieten Foundation, a sensory-friendly reception was organized for the first time this edition. Eleven people who usually avoid theater due to an overload of stimuli were now able to visit a quiet room before the performance. Additionally, they could prepare for their visit through descriptions of the location, surroundings, and the performance. A number of deaf-blind people also visited Boulevard as a group. Through four-handed sign language, they met artist Niels Weijer and some also saw his performance Arm Dances.

There was also a good turnout for the performance with audio description. Beforehand, about twenty blind visitors and their companions met the actors and costumes in a meet and feel. During the performance, they received a description of what was happening on stage through headphones from a sighted interpreter.

As part of the Geef een Toegift campaign, almost 500 generous festival visitors donated an extra ticket for someone else. As a result, we were able to welcome people from, among others, the AZC, Refugee Work, Quiet Community, het Taalhuis, and youth work PowerUp073.

Daniële Streep, the recently appointed interim managing director, is impressed by everything she has seen. “A well-balanced programme that allows the visitor to pause and reflect on the developments in the world or just have a nice evening out. It was truly a celebration of 40 years of Boulevard, a city festival created by a flexible team, hundreds of tireless volunteers, and many involved creators and partners.”