The phrase ‘the pure magic of theatre’ may be overused, yet it feels difficult to find a better description for what Ontroerend Goed achieves in their new work ‘Thanks for Being Here’, part of this year’s Big in Belgium programme.

Ontroerend Goed, a Belgian collective based in Ghent, has earned international praise for creating inventive, immersive, and often daring performances that blur the lines between stage and audience. Since their beginnings in the early 2000s, they have developed a body of work that fuses theatrical craft with elements of games, intimate exchanges, and social experiments. They invite those who attend not simply to watch, but to step into the structure of the piece, exploring themes of trust, choice, influence, and the fragile bonds between people.

In keeping with the spirit of ‘Thanks for Being Here’, there will no revealing the specific events that occur during the performance. What can be shared is that the entire piece is shaped by a question they have asked their audiences throughout their years of touring across the world: ‘What do you want to add to the show?’ The work draws from the traditions of experimental theatre in both the United Kingdom and mainland Europe, recalling the influence of pioneers such as Brecht, Jerzy Grotowski, and Joan Littlewood, who sought to expand the boundaries of performance beyond the traditional structures and the designated stage.

By suggesting that the making of the show itself extends into the lives and choices of the audiences, it asks whether there are other ways to imagine what theatre can be. If, as Shakespeare claimed, all the world is a stage, perhaps the stage can truly be the world when performance is understood as any shared space in which meaning and connection are created together.

However, it doesn’t mean that ‘Thanks for Being Here’ relies fully and lazily on its audience to create the piece in place of the artists. Ontroerend Goed’s skill as performers and makers is evident throughout. The staging is carefully considered, the camera movement precise, and the use of  ZOO Southside’s space inventive and fully realised. The performance appears effortless, yet it demands remarkable adaptability to sustain this level of improvised engagement every day. There is also great risk in their approach. Not every audience member wishes to be placed at the centre of the action, and the piece withholds the revelation of its full purpose until the very end. This patience may challenge some viewers, yet the company works from an unshakable belief and optimism in their audience, regardless of their backgrounds or expectations.

To confine a performance like this to a star rating feels inadequate. Each iteration depends upon the chemistry between those in the seats and those on the stage, which means that no two performances will ever be identical. A more surprising or more moving version may happen tomorrow. Yet, that is the essence of live performance. It is not perfection that draws us in, but the humanity of sharing a room with the artists, being part of the shaping of an idea, and recognising the beauty in imperfection. It may take the full hour to grasp the meaning of that exchange, but when the understanding arrives, the reward is as rich as theatre can offer.

‘Thanks for Being Here‘ is at ZOO Southside – Main House until Sun 24 Aug 2025 at 13:45