Relations avec les publics

The Théâtre National sees itself as a large open house inhabited by one and all: schools, associations, students and curious passers-by. The Audience Engagement department caters to all audiences, particularly those who would not spontaneously step into the theatre. This point of attention guides all our artistic proposals. The programme is designed as an invitation: accessible, mindful of the diversity of perspectives and experiences, so that everyone can find their own way to and within the theatre. 

It is through customized activities that the department helps audiences to extend their experience of the performance in different ways. Tailored guided tours, workshops on shared practices offering direct access to artists and their work, post-performance discussions and dialogue with the world of academic research, and the Assemblée du National (AdN), a group of loyal audience members who bring the theatre to life through outings and gatherings – all this is part of this dynamic.

‘Stepping outside oneself to meet the other’ lies at the heart of our approach, as at Maison Gertrude, an arts centre established within a care home where numerous artistic projects have emerged, co-created with the artists, care staff and residents of the home. This approach also holds for long-term projects led by artists from the theatre, involving audiences drawn from the diverse community of Brussels. Spanning an entire season, these projects culminate in the festival À la scène comme à la ville, an annual event open and accessible to all.

For the Théâtre National, facilitating access to culture is far more than a mere objective. For us, as a public service, it is a matter of working every day to make the theatre’s walls permeable, to create shared spaces that are open, vibrant and accessible to all. It is driven by this concern for accessibility that the Théâtre National today champions a ‘relational theatre’, where new dynamics are forged in our relationships with audiences, artists and works.

→ publics@theatrenational.be