Brecht Hermans is a theatre maker, an instigator of encounters.
In his performances and projects, he likes to have an artistic conversation with his audience.
He acts, directs, writes, imagines – sometimes just 1 of these 4, sometimes all four at once.
For his show The Karamazovs he reworked Dostoyevsky’s masterpiece into a theatre text in 8 episodes, in which he invited the audience to read out the roles on stage – thereby creating a live audioplay. The show got good reviews and won the Spirit of the Fringe Award in Paris.
Since 2015, Brecht regularly performs the mobile Radio i Play at festivals. Visitors can request a song in exchange for a story connected to that song. Since 2018, there is also a version with a radio kiosk, built by Cie Manneke.
In Alkmaar, Brecht set up the Ministry of Alkmaar Affairs: tien regular inhabitants of Alkmaar were chosen as ministers and disturbed the city with their wagon of propaganda or appeared out of nowhere with crazy new regulations at the festival Karavaan.
Together with visual artist Hans Bossmann, Brecht made a tour in Rotterdam for the project Self-portraits of Oude Westen, in which inhabitants and visitors were invited to draw on furniture and to share stories about the neighborhood or themselves. This resulted in a living exposition in art centre WORM S/ash Gallery and Museum Rotterdam. The magazine RealMAG made a publication with several of Brecht’s stories. Requested by Theater Babel Rotterdam, Hans and Brecht made another tour in Delfshaven, together with actors with and without disabilities of the theatre company. This project was called Self-portraits of Delfshaven.
As Karl Haegenbeck, the owner of the Zoo of the (almost) extinct animals, Brecht goes from town to town with Animalium / Carnivale by De Machienerie. The show was present at streettheatre festivals as MiraMiro in Ghent and Theater op de Markt in Hasselt.
In Dordrecht, Brecht acts in Theater ‘t Weeshuis in the show Als je van me houdt, about a girl with a desire to die.
In the inclusive Theater Babel Rotterdam, Brecht performed in Ont-heemd and Het gedroomde café. Now he works behind the scenes for the PR / marketing.
For theatre group Filet Puur, Brecht wrote a rework of Elektra. Filet Puur won the Gouden Doek award and was selected for Landjuweelfestival 2016.
With the Ghent based collective Oortocht, Brecht made the exceptional shows L’Eléphant Perdu and IF ONLY I HAD A HEART. For Slakken/sporen the collective worked with different visual artists for a performance about the beauty of slowness in nature. The performance, and the exposition based on it, won the Co-Production Award at the Arena Festival in Erlangen (D).
As a journalist, Brecht wrote for Theaterkrant, CircusMagazine, DM City Magazine (De Morgen), De Leeswelp and goddeau.com.
As a theatre technician, Brecht worked for KVS, Campo, Theater Antigone, Bronks, De Roovers, DeSingel, Laika, Bo Tarenskeen, Motschnik, De Nietjesfabriek, Brune Campos and VillaBasta.
He was production manager for theatre company Hotel Modern in Rotterdam and worked as a production assistant for Klarafestival and 1000 Voices for Peace by Festival van Vlaanderen Brussel.
Brecht did part time schooling in accountancy and now does the administration of theatre maker Fiona Kelatow, cello player Pau Marques i Oleo, interior designer Pawel Szubert and fashion designers of Surreal by Mau.
In a distant past, Brecht studied Theatre sciences at the University of Ghent, with a year of Erasmus at the University of Utrecht, and Podiumtechnieken (lighting, sound, video) at RITCS in Brussels.
In his time off, Brecht enjoys going to the movies. He has a Cineville-abonnement and each year works voluntarily for the International Film Festival Rotterdam.
