There is a deep crisis in Flemish theatre. Toneelhuis is in dire straits.

In Flanders, or rather in its cultural capital, Antwerp, the theatre sector is faltering. The Toneelhuis, founded in the late 1990s as a merger between the legendary Blauwe Maandag Compagnie and city company KNS, is in crisis after the departure of Guy Cassiers. It is now losing more than half of its subsidy, after a scathing opinion. The Flemish government is quitting, so only the City of Antwerp remains.

No more buildings

The Bourla theatre, the beautiful old theatre in the heart of Antwerp where Het Toneelhuis is based, will be closed for renovation for at least two years. Meanwhile, Antwerp's Stadsschouwburg, just around the corner from the Bourla, will in all likelihood be demolished this decade. Leading youth theatre company Het Paleis threatens to become homeless as a result.

Research platform Apache.be released earlier this month this story, and marvelled at the little excitement surrounding this rather violent development in the Flemish theatre landscape. Especially the sector itself, not usually of the quiet ones anyway, is keeping a low profile. Monday 16 May did appear a manifesto online of the staff of Het Toneelhuis, against the possible dismissal of 80 staff members.

No more resident actors

For the rest, our southern neighbours still have unrest over human resources policy of NTGent. Indeed, in Flanders, as in the Netherlands, actors are no longer permanently employed. As a sacrifice to a more diverse offer, there is a threat of underpayment of people on stages. Indeed, the new ensemble ensembles, where creators in clubs together determine the policy of a 'house', have much less security than the old clubs that worked with permanent contracts. It is striking that people cite 'diversity' as the reason for this rather brutal reckoning with the livelihood security of those working in the sector.

And then headliner Jan Fabre of leading international hit company Troubleyn has also fallen rock hard from his pedestal for sexually borderline discriminatory behaviour.

Politics is your best friend

What is striking in Apache's report is the great power of politics in the artistic policies of art institutions. In Flanders, it is common for theatre directors to be partly politically appointed. This means that in Antwerp, the N-VA, the nationalist-right party that has a majority in the city council, can also be held responsible for the malaise, but is at the same time essential in its solution.

So you have to keep politics friendly, more so than in the Netherlands. And those right-wing conservatives appear to dream of a kind of ITA-like 'national city company'. A merger (yes), in which NTGent and the Brussels KVS would also merge, with a striking leader at its head (Ivo van Hove is mentioned). So then you keep quiet for a while, because you don't want any enemies in politics.

Meanwhile in the Netherlands?

Meanwhile, the future of the theatre sector in the Netherlands is improving only cosmetically. A vacuum at the top is looming, not only in Rotterdam, but also in Utrecht. And what does Amsterdam do when Ivo van Hove gets an offer from Antwerp that he cannot refuse?