http://www.laika.be

Laika is an internationally renowned theatre company that creates ’theatre of the senses’: imaginative productions aimed at children, youngsters, and grown-ups who have retained their child-like capacity for surprise. Laika’s fascination with children and teenagers is closely tied to their ability to look at the world with a fresh eye and a sense of amazement. Its productions appeal strongly to the senses and abound with tasty stories, new recipes and unknown worlds.

Laika, formerly known as Blauw Vier [Blue Four], started in 1991 with a repertoire of professional productions for children and teenagers. Meanwhile Laika has also built itself a solid reputation abroad. Productions such as Een dame in de kast, Cyrano, PEEP&EAT, Undeuxdouce, Peer and Patatboem have been performed all over Europe. The company has been building up long-term collaborations with a number of theatres abroad: Centro Cultural de Belém (Lisbon), Lyric Theatre Hammersmith (London), Le Grand Volcan (Le Havre), Le Channel (Calais), Szene Bunte Wähne (Vienna) and several cultural capitals (Rotterdam 2001, Bruges 2002, Lille 2004, Linze 2009).

Jo Roets acts as artistic manager, playwright and director of Laika. He masters the skill of playfully reducing complex classic tales to their essence. His staging of Cyrano de Bergerac (1996) was a great international success and performances such as Napolejong (1997), De Karamazovs (1999), Floris en Blancefloer (2001), Van muizen en mensen (2003), De twaalfde nacht (2003), and De Idioot (2006) had an appealing clarity. His work has been frequently nominated, and Roets’ texts are often staged abroad as well. In 2009 Tot in de woestijn and Het Takkenkind, both directed by Roets, have been highly appreciated.

Peter De Bie and Bart Van den Eynde both act as permanent artistic collaborators at Laika. Peter De Bie worked as business manager of Blauw Vier. In 1998 he started to develop strongly sensory projects such as PEEP&EAT, a culinary peep-show, COUPe ROYALe and Patatboem. In 2004, he created Hotel Tomilho with Hanneke Paauwe and Jo Roets. In 2006, he and Time Circus dreamt up the Sensazione theatrical carnival. Me Gusta was a cross cultural production about culinary traditions. Since 2007, De Bie has been acting as Laika’s artistic manager, next to Jo Roets.

Bart Van den Eynde was one of the founders of Laika, working as house dramaturgist. In 2002, he directed his first production there, entitled Slaapwakker. In 2005, he created the on-location project Slot, based on Maurice Maeterlinck’s La mort de Tintagiles. He was a permanent staff member until 2006, after which he began work on a freelance basis.

Laika performs both at large and small theatre houses, but also enjoys venturing into unknown territory - an old cinema, a shopping street, a marquee on a square. When embarking on larger theatre projects, Laika tends to join forces with partners with the necessary know-how, such as Theater Froe Froe and HETPALEIS in Antwerp, ro theater in Rotterdam, ‘t Arsenaal in Mechelen and theatermakershuis de Queeste in Hasselt.