http://www.tristero.be

TRISTERO is a Brussels-based company and the members of its artistic core are Youri Dirkx, Kristien De Proost and Peter Vandenbempt. Manu Devriendt is the business manager.

TRISTERO productions assume many different forms. They often use new or unknown repertoire, which the company translates in its own unique way into a theatrical experience for a wide audience. Good comedies or intriguing, well made plays, in-house prose adaptations, but also movement theatre or a mix of different components are all possibilities. For example, the works of René Eljon, Jean-Pierre Bacri and Agnès Jaoui, Mike Leigh and Martin Crimp have all yielded stimulating material. In its search for new content and forms, the company tries (literally) to get close to the audience, thus increasing a feeling of intimacy and making it easier for them to get carried away by the production. The decision to perform an unusual repertoire means that TRISTERO already has a number of Flemish premieres and creations to its name, including Altijd ’t zelfde, Locos and Play with repeats.

With a sometimes devastating humour, TRISTERO provides us with a vision of our complex world. To do this, the makers use a style that could be described as intelligent but not too heavy, accessible but not one-dimensional, black but not cynical. Alongside its selection of genuine comedies, TRISTERO tries to dig out a seam of humour in other plays too. Laughter has a chastening effect, puts things (and the makers) into perspective and can perhaps reconcile them and the audience with the absurdity of life.

TRISTERO is supported by big theatre centres like the Kaaitheater and KVS and from 2010 will be operationally subsidised by the Flemish Community.