Theatre Rotterdam is going to do it all over again

On Monday 14 March, Theatre Rotterdam will present its plans for the upcoming arts plan period. On Thursday 10 March, Bianca van der Schoot already told about it during a public meeting with a class of Utrecht theatre scholars. What became clear from her story is that she has little desire to bring world repertoire with the old Ro theatre share in Theatre Rotterdam. She is much more keen on productions that explore relationships with audiences in all sorts of ways. Van der Schoot, who herself has made a name for herself as an innovator of mime, will therefore not be so quick to stage a Chekhov in the Rotterdam Schouwburg herself

Bianca van der Schoot will succeed Alize Zandwijk as artistic director of the Ro Theater, which will merge with Productiehuis Rotterdam, Wunderbaum and the Rotterdam Schouwburg into the new mega-city company led by Johan Simons (who will also head a festival and a company in Germany). With her innovative plans, she stands in a tradition of creative destruction that can now be called typically Rotterdam. After all, back in the early 1970s, the Maas city chose to disband the Nieuw Rotterdams Toneel, a company modelled on the Nederlandse Comedie. The money that was freed up was spent by the city on 17 new, independent initiatives by theatre-makers.

In the early 1980s, Annemarie Prins caused a riot by sacking pretty much all staff when she took office at the ro theatre in order to start with fresh blood. After the demolition of the old theatre, the then youthful maestros Jos Thie and Antoine Uitdehaag chose to work in an old waterworks hall on the eastern edge of the city, and were thus ahead of their time.

Exactly what the new plans of the new Rotterdam theatre house will look like will become clear on Monday 14 March. It is already clear that the large structure wants to be primarily small-scale. When asked, Van der Schoot did want to say that even internally they have been warned not to turn the whole new company into a big 'production house'. In such a production house, of which 20 were created by Halbe Zijlstra in the previous arts plan period cut away, a basic organisation provides a climate in which new creators can constantly find their own form. This is therefore substantially different from a company under an artistic director who sets a substantive course and, above all, brings theatre to large venues. Van der Schoot wants to 'flexibly' fulfil the obligation to focus a significant part of the work on venues of at least 400 seats. She will also continue to make performances and installations with Suzanne Bogaerdt, with whom she has worked since the beginning of this century in sometimes controversial performances.

By rigorously opting for her own personal artistic direction, Bianca van der Schoot at least ensures that Rotterdam theatre life will continue to provide the necessary commotion. Neat repertory theatre will again not be made in Rotterdam. For Molière, fans will have to go to other companies and cities.