Mercurial Belgian experimentalists Ontroered Goed spent much of the early part of their career winding up audiences, something that came to a head in their 2011 show Audience, in which they aggressily prodded and provoked their own punters, and even sought to express cynicism at the very idea of romanticising crowds and other mass movements. They’ve mellowed in recent years, settling into a middle age that has yielded several elegiac masterpieces including World without Us, Are we not drawn onward to new erA and their last Fringe outing, 2023’s deeply moving Funeral.
New show Thanks for Being Here is supposed to be a thank you to their audiences for staying loyal: ‘for more than 20 years, Ontroerend Goed has been making interactive theatre for people who especially don't like interactive theatre. And we'll take your expectations into account’ runs the description. Whether it proves to be a sincere acknowledgement or something more sardonic is hard to say at this stage, but whatever happens it’s sure to be interesting.
