Theu Boermans

When were you first enchanted by (musical) theatre? And by what?

In my early youth. I grew up in a family where there was always a lot of theatre. My first theatre experience was a comic opera, written and composed by my father and performed by amateurs. It was a revelation, because at that moment the theatre became a more important place for me than the church.

Why do people sing and why don't they speak?

People sing when spoken words are no longer enough to express their feelings or confusion. Sung words go from heart to heart.

Which role can/should musical theatre play in today's society? 

A very important one. Music is a universal language. That's why musical theatre, even more than spoken theatre, is the future. But to achieve this, music theatre must be innovative. It should not only preserve the old, but also develop new pieces from European history that compete with Anglo-American imported theatre. It needs a theatre that dramatises the great themes of our time for the audience in a modern theatrical language.

Born in

Willemstad, Curacao (Netherlands Antilles)

Education

Academy of Dramatic Arts in Maastricht

Five to ten important engagements

Actor at Public Theatre Amsterdam, Actor/Director at Het Zuidelijk Toneel Globe, Founder and creative director De Trust, Director De Theatercompagnie, Creative Director ITs Festival (International Theatreschool Festival), Creative Director National Theatre of the Netherlands

Engagements:

Der Theatermacher, Thomas Bernhard, Die Präsidentinnen und Faecaliëndramen Werner Schwab, Krieg, Rainald Goetz am de Trust Amsterdam

Hamlet, Was ihr wollt, Der Kaufmann von Venedig by William Shakespeare, Don Carlos by Friedrich Schiller, Die Möwe, Der Kirschgarten und Drei Schwestern by Anton Tsjechow, Das Weite Land, Der Einsame Weg, Fräulein Else by Arthur Schnitzler at the Het Nationale Theater in Den Haag

International Engagements

Raoul Schrotts Gilgamesh at the Akademietheater, Ein Sommernachtstraum at Burgtheater, Hamlet at Schauspielhaus Graz, Urfaust at Theater Basel

Musical Theatre

Johnny und Jones: Nederlandse Opera Amadeus; Nationaal: Theater Den Haag; Sweeney Todd: State Opera Hannover; In 2010, he created his spectacular production of the musical Soldaat van Oranje on a 360° stage in an aircraft hangar converted into a theatre, where it is still performed today.

Debut at Volksoper Wien

Director: Lass uns die Welt vergessen - Volksoper 1938 (Saison 2023/24)

Significant Honours & Prizes

Nominated for the Crystal Globe at the International Film Festival in Karlovy Vary for his film 1000 Roses, for which he was also awarded the Golden Calf three times. Nominated by De Uitverkorene for best television drama, 2006 Golden Calf at the Nederlands Film Festival for _{De Partizanen} as best television drama, 1995 Prix d'Europe and Emmy Award for The Chosen One, winner of the Prince Bernard Culture Prize

Other

1979: Founder of the Pop-Formation Theu Boermans and the Group - Composer, Texter and Interpret  

* Use of Photography (© Samuel van Leeuwen) only for the purpose of current reporting on the Volksoper Wien