Laika is smelling, feeling, seeing, hearing and tasting.
Laika, theatre of the senses, is more than a theatre company. It is a way of thinking, of looking and of being. It is a perceptual and immersive experience, an adventure. What Laika does can best be summed up by listing its artistic but also human qualities.
Laika loves sentences. Driven by a deep appreciation of engaging texts and evergreen story lines, the company is known for putting the classical repertoire and world literature on the stage and giving them a topical twist.
Laika loves the five senses and is an apprentice magician, creator of unforgettable images and zany dishes. Laika cooks out of respect for our planet. Fish-without-fish and meat-without-meat. Cress sown on edible tables, an aperitif served in a test tube, soup from a watering can. Laika is luscious and moreish. And thanks to its sense of humour and fun, always easy to digest.
Laika reimagines the world symbolically through poetic, wordless, physical and musical language.
Laika likes to look over the walls of the auditorium, presenting theatre on a square, in a classroom, a forest or a disused building. It pushes the boundaries of audience interaction. And surprises us with ingenious scenography.
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Laika is known from Seattle to Seoul, and is the darling of numerous stages abroad. This international spread raises its standing, including artistically. Loyal partners are Le Channel (Calais), Le Volcan (Le Havre), Theaterfestival Boulevard ('s-Hertogenbosch), Cultura Nova (Heerlen), tjg. theater junge generation (Dresden), Schauburg München, Prado (Lisbon), Blauwe Kei, Theater aan de Noordkade (Veghel) and a number of cultural capitals (Rotterdam 2001, Bruges 2002, Lille 2004, Linz 2009, Marseille 2013 and Valletta 2018).
Laika saw the light of day in 2001. But in actual fact, it has been around much longer. It grew out of Blauw Vier, which was founded at a time when children’s theatre was virgin territory in Flanders. Thanks in large part to this energizing pioneer, theatre for a young public was able to grow and break down barriers. Laika was instrumental in propelling the genre to great heights.
Laika is an open and dynamic company. Innovating, expanding and rejuvenating the core artistic team is a prerequisite for artistic relevance. In 2023, the company reinforced its artistic core: charting the course now are
JO ROETS (°1961) studied at the Toneelacademie Maastricht and has worked as an actor, writer and director since 1989. From Theater FroeFroe he went on to set up the Blauw Vier company with Greet Vissers. As co-artistic director of Laika – along with Peter De Bie – since 2001, he is its unifying force. The two artistic directors work closely together on the theatre of the senses. What drives Roets is the pleasure of telling epic stories and simple tales on stage. He takes major works from the world repertoire, such as those of Rostand, Dostoyevsky and Shakespeare, and reduces them to the essence. His adaptations of classics are greatly admired for their clarity and powerful visual language. But he also stages contemporary authors like Filip Vanluchene, Gerda Dendooven, Bart Moeyaert, Judith Herzberg, David Grossman, Erik Vlaminck, Rachida Lamrabet, Dimitri Verhulst, Freek Mariën, Michael Bijnens, Fikry El Azzouzi and Benny Lindelauf. His concern for the urban social climate has led Jo to mount participative city projects within Laika, such as Hotel Ideal and BLOK-BLOC.
His work has been nominated for the Henriette Hustinx, Hans Snoek, Signaal, Océ Podium and Toneelschrijf prizes (among others). Cantecleir won the Veronica Prize. Brothers Karamazov and Binta’s inner room were selected for Het TheaterFestival.
Companies in such countries as Germany, France, Portugal, Austria, Switzerland and the United States of America perform his scripts. He has directed international coproductions in Seattle (USA), Rotterdam (NL), Lisbon (PT), Modena (IT) and Dresden (DE).
He is a senior lecturer at the Toneelacademie Maastricht and coordinator of the Teaching & Directing programmes there.
PETER DE BIE (°1967) studied socio-cultural work in Ghent before spending five years working for what was then the Vlaams Theater Instituut (VTI). He became Blauw Vier’s business manager, while also gaining a culinary diploma. In 1998, he began laying the foundations for his sensory projects, coupling in his inimitable way gastronomy with theatre. In 2001, Blauw Vier became Laika, and Peter De Bie and Jo Roets its artistic directors. They have since frequently worked together in varying combinations. As well as being a culinary cum sensory artist who initiates and helps create projects, Peter often takes charge of the scenography for Laika productions.
He was the culinary force behind PEEP&EAT, COUPe ROYALe, Patatboem, Hotel Tomilho, Sensazione, Me Gusta, Cucinema, Opera Buffa, Aromagic, Piknik Horrifik, Pentamerone, CANTINA and Aventuras. These projects are difficult to place in a single category. Smell, taste and touch are as important as eye and ear. Peter’s culinary skills are characterized by experimentation, by unusual colour combinations and novel ingredients and receptacles. He repeatedly breaks with theatre’s conventions. Composition and placement of the audience are key factors. After an extensive study of form, he goes on to create unexpected total environments, which speak directly to the audience. He often calls upon a whole host of other creatives such as cooks, musicians, visual artists and circus artists. His repertoire is an ode to ‘conviviality’ and recalls a distant past when theatre was an important social happening, where people chatted, laughed, drank and forgot.
Over the last 25 years, he has built a solid (inter)national reputation for himself. He has conceived and realized the culinary component of stage shows and events for theatre companies and festivals all over Europe – some as coproductions with Laika. He works with acclaimed theatres and festivals like KunstenFestivaldesArts (BE), Theaterfestival Boulevard in ’s Hertogenbosch (NL), Cultura Nova Festival in Heerlen (NL), Le Channel, Scène nationale de Calais (FR), Le Volcan Scène nationale du Havre (FR), Scène nationale 61 Alençon (FR), Galia Théâtre in Saintes (FR), Centro Cultural de Belém in Lisbon (PT), Lavrar o Mar in Aljezur (PT), Teatro Viriato in Viseu (PT), Percursos in Lisbon (PT), Prado in Lisbon (PT), Emilia Romagna Teatro Fondazione in Modena (IT), Marseille, Cultural Capital 2013 (FR), Bergen, Cultural Capital 2015 (BE), Valletta Cultural Capital 2018 (MT), etc.
He coached theatre maker Sien Vanmaele in her first full-length evening food performance SEA MEAL (2022), which she made under the auspices of Laika. Peter is still travelling and cooking with and in BALSAM, a tantalizing, alchemistic concert created in 2020 in collaboration with music ensemble Zefiro Torna.
SIEN VANMAELE (°1990) was awarded a Bachelor’s degree in Language and Literature by the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), before graduating as an actress from the Toneelacademie Maastricht in 2016. Her first steps in the theatre were in group shows with the company fABULEUS and in various projects with Villanella. As a student, she also did work placements (theatre direction) with the KIP, The National Theatre of Scotland and the KVS.
All that experience proved invaluable when it came to developing her solo work, in which she exposes the minor tragedies of daily life, always endeavouring to put her finger on the wound, albeit in a disarming and vulnerable way. The pain Sien explores in her shows is recognizable to us all: a broken heart, profound loss, uncertainty about the future. She takes a novel approach to these questions: in the pounding and poetic punk opera Hopeshewasworthit, in video performances and food performances.
These food performances are a new medium of expression for Sien. She takes the sensory experience of the theatre to the next level and makes the comforting power of food physical. There is nothing more consolatory than a meal prepared with love. In her first food performance Vogelnestjes in madeirasaus (Bird nests in Madeira sauce), she questions the ecological and ethical credentials of ingredients we use on a daily basis and invites her audience to join her in cooking a ‘conscious’ meal. In her degree show Spijs voor liefde (Food for love), she continued her research into theatre and food, this time taking a culinary approach to healing a broken heart. Coached by Laika’s Peter De Bie, in Witlof from Syria (2017) she looked for ways to connect with people from a different culture through cooking. In 2019, she went undercover and made I lost my mom at the supermarket, treading in the footsteps of her mother who works at Aldi.
From within Laika, Sien has created a variety of online and live Cooking workshops in preparation for the end of the world (2021). SEA MEAL (2022) is the first part of a trilogy that expresses concern for the world of tomorrow. The second part, LAND MEAL, followed in 2023 and after that AIR MEAL. In and through her shows, Sien uses her in-depth research to open a window in her own head, while always endeavouring to offer her audience comfort and consolation – perhaps in the form of a new potato with mariners' butter, a scoop of rice pudding or a chunk of text.
Since January 2023, Sien has been part of Laika’s core artistic team, along with Aminata Demba, Michai Geyzen, Jo Roets and Peter De Bie.
AMINATA DEMBA (°1987) is a Belgian-Malian actress and presenter. In recent years she has appeared in the stage plays Dis-moi wie ik ben (ARSENAAL/ LAZARUS/ GEN2020 and KVS), Marieke Marieke (Het Zuidelijk Toneel), De moed om te doden (Toneelhuis), Futur Simple (DE MAAN), Rabbit with plums (Laika), Iemand moet het doen (Lazarus/Robin Rooze), Familie Grrr (hetpaleis/ De Nwe Tijd) and Tortot (Laika & Theater FroeFroe). In 2017, she and director Leslie Verbeeck made the documentary Pelikaanstraat 20, which explored the theme of migration from different perspectives. The documentary was shown on the Belgian television channel Canvas. In 2019 and 2020, she was in NTGent’s play Black - part 1 of Luk Perceval’s trilogy The Sorrows of Belgium - and in Race (ARSENAAL), produced by Johan Dehollander and Aurelie Di Marino.
She has also had a number of guest artist roles in television series such as Bergica (Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah), Gent West II (Bart Van Dael), De Twaalf (Wouter Bouvijn), Zie mij graag (Toon Slembrouck) and De Zonen van As (Thomas De Cock).
As well as acting, Aminata makes her own shows. For example, in 2020 she created Binta’s inner room in association with Laika, for which Hanneke Paauwe wrote the script. In 2021, she and actress Aicha Cissé and director Frédérique Lecompte made C.A.T.C.H (KVS). In 2023, she made BAZAR (Laika) and Feed Me Please (Bronks/Theater Antigone). At the Krokusfestival in Hasselt in 2025, she will be premiering Amadou (Laika), a story told with music.
Since January 2023, Aminata has been part of Laika’s core artistic team along with Michai Geyzen, Sien Vanmaele, Jo Roets and Peter De Bie.
MICHAI GEYZEN (°1983) graduated from the Toneelacademie Maastricht as a drama teacher/director in 2012, and in 2016 he was awarded a Master of Arts degree. In 2014, he made/directed the show Über-Ich with Laika’s support and in association with de Warande, Turnhout. The production won the MU-ZEE-UM youth jury prize at TAZ (Theater aan Zee) in 2015. In 2017, Michai was back with Laika, where he directed On the road. The show was premiered at the Krokusfestival in Hasselt and toured widely abroad (Germany, Portugal, Norway, Sweden, South Korea, etc.). In 2022, Light/house (Laika & hetpaleis) saw the light of day. This show also enjoyed long national and international runs. In April 2024, Michai made Superheroes Letzte Slacht, a coproduction between Laika and Schauburg München (DE), a theatre company excited by Geyzen’s visual and energizing work. In the autumn of 2024, he is making a new version, HEROES, based on the German original and with a brand-new cast.
As an actor, Michai has appeared in En we stierven nog lang en gelukkig (Sermoen), Hendrik (Studio Gebroed/Theaterfestival Boulevard), Romeo en Julia (Hans van de Boom), Fight Night (Ontroerend Goed) and Hiatus (Unusual Symptoms/Helder Seabra) with Stadstheater Bremen. Since 2019 he has been attached to the University of Maastricht (UCM) where he coaches students in their Artistic Research into 'What is a home?'. In 2015, Michai founded his own theatre company De Mannschaft with Stijn Van de Wiel. Its shows have included Timothy, Liv, Dethleff, John&Jane, Melissa, Poupehan and Jordy.
Since January 2023, Michai has been part of Laika’s core artistic team, along with Aminata Demba, Sien Vanmaele, Jo Roets and Peter De Bie.
Laika makes generous theatre, theatre that erases age, language and cultural barriers. Theatre that brings the worlds of children, young people and adults together.
Laika is craftsmanship and experimentation. It is enthusiasm and inspiration. It is dedication to the planet, society and our fellow human beings.
Laika is a close-knit collective, where it is a pleasure to work, including with others. Across all disciplines. Dreamers and doers; feet on the ground, head in the clouds. Laika is a big little company.
Laika stands at the centre of the world, setting things in motion and connecting people. Laika dotes on the city and all its inhabitants and relishes engaging with them. Laika is curious about what is going on in society. Holds diversity in high regard, not only among the audience, but also on stage – not only in words but also in deeds. The importance Laika attaches to social engagement is reflected in neighbourhood and city projects like Hotel Ideal, dream the city, and the BLOK-BLOC festival. Laika has a mission, and it is called society.