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© Ben van Duin |
Johan Simons was born in 1946 in Holland. He began training as a dancer in Rotterdam at the age of 14 and studied acting at the Maastricht Theatre Academy. He joined the Haagsche Comedie as an actor in 1976, and it was there that he staged his first production. In 1979, he was one of the cofounders of Wespetheater, an actors’ collective that toured the provinces of northern Holland in the summer, performing in tents and presenting plays on regional and historical subjects that were created through a process of improvisation. The company aimed for an expressive, physical style of acting inspired by the Commedia dell´arte. In 1982, he founded his own theatre company, Het Regiotheater. Its working methods and acting style were similar to those used by Wespetheater, but the plays were no longer developed through improvisation, but written specially for the company by experienced authors. In 1985, Het Regiotheater merged with the similarly organised company Acht Oktober to form the Theatergroep Hollandia, which put on performances in disused factory halls, stables and country churches. Johan Simons cooperated closely with the percussionist and composer Paul Koek, who became the company’s deputy artistic director and with whom Simons directed many plays. In 2001, the group merged with Het Zuidelijk Toneel from Eindhoven to form ZT Hollandia. The company was honoured with numerous prizes and invited to take successful productions, such as “Voices” and “The Fall of the Gods”, to various international festivals. In 2000, Simons and Koek were presented with the European Prize for Theatrical Innovation in Taormina. Since then, Simons has been in demand as a guest director at German-language theatres, including the Schauspielhaus in Zurich, the Munich Kammerspiele and the Vienna International Festival. In 2004, he was voted Director of the Year in the “Theater heute” magazine critics’ survey (for his production of “Anatomy Titus Fall of Rome” at the Munich Kammerspiele). Since September 2005, Simons has been the artistic manager of the Publiekstheater in Ghent, which is now called NTGent. Apart from featuring the work of young theatre directors at his new base, Simons has plans for coproductions with the Toneelgroep Amsterdam, the Volksbühne Berlin and the Opéra de Bastille in Paris. With the season 2010/2011 Simon takes over the Munich Kammerspiele as theatre director
