NTGent (Royal Dutch Theatre)
Ghent's city theatre in an 1899 playhouse on Sint-Baafsplein, known for internationally touring work.
NTGent is the city theatre of Ghent and one of the largest producing companies in Flanders. Its main house, the Koninklijke Nederlandse Schouwburg on Sint-Baafsplein, was built between 1897 and 1899 to designs by the Ghent architect Edmond De Vigne, in an eclectic neo-Renaissance manner with a sculpted facade and a richly decorated auditorium and foyer. The building faces Saint Bavo's Cathedral and the belfry, and its ground-floor arcade houses the long-running theatre café De Foyer.
The company took its present form in 1965 and has since become known for directors' theatre with an international profile. Under Johan Simons and later Milo Rau it toured widely and developed a repertoire mixing reworked classics, documentary theatre and collaborations with non-professional performers. Alongside the Schouwburg, NTGent presents work in the smaller Minnemeers and Arca spaces and an attic studio, and it co-produces with companies across Europe.
Highlights
- Neo-Renaissance auditorium and foyer of 1899 by Edmond De Vigne
- Facing Saint Bavo's Cathedral and the belfry on Sint-Baafsplein
- Home of an internationally touring Flemish repertory company
- Most productions are played in Dutch with English surtitles
