Ostend (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Theater Aan Zee 2025 in Ostend drew 100,000 visitors with 600 shows. The theme was time. Caroline Pauwels Grant awarded to Martha Balthazar and Leon Adriaensen for “Aha,” receiving €12,500 support.
As VRT News reported, the Theater Aan Zee (TAZ) festival in Ostend has concluded its 28th edition with a steady number of visitors, around 100,000, as in previous years, over 10 days. The coastal city, itself, has become one big stage, with in total of 600 shows at 50 different locations, from small indoor venues to open-air performances. A total of 50,000 theater tickets were sold. Well-known artists and new talents took part in the festival.
How did TAZ 2025 in Ostend celebrate time with 9 premieres?
The Caroline Pauwels Grant for Wonder was given this year to Martha Balthazar and Leon Adriaensen for their project Aha (working title). The award is named after Pauwels, former VUB rector and curator of TAZ in 2021, who died of cancer in 2022.
Aha is based on the moment when something unclear becomes clear. The creators will get €10,000 from deAuteurs and €2,500 from VUB. They will also receive support from TAZ, KVS, and De Grote Post for projects.
The Theater Aan Zee (TAZ) festival in Ostend this year focused on the theme of time, following last year’s theme of generations. The motto, “Le Temps d’une chanson,” comes from Serge Gainsbourg’s song La Javanaise and means “We loved each other for the time of a song.”
The festival used this to explore how time shapes memories, relationships, and life. Artistic director Cindy Godefroi planned the program around the theme and included it in many performances. A special song was introduced at the opening and performed in different shows. The night ended with 101-year-old Alice Toen singing “De Tijd van Toen” (The Time of Then).
The Theater Aan Zee (TAZ) festival in Ostend premiered 9 new productions, all linked to the theme of time. A highlight was “Queen of the Flies”, a mix of drama and humour about 7 drag queens, a ship’s captain, and a writer stranded on a deserted island.
In “Macc(h)abees”, Sophie Warant turned 7 years of research on death into a powerful physical performance. Belgian audiences also saw the first local stagings of “There is no rhythm, there is no rain”, “Bulk”, “DEEPER”, and “A Little Inquest Into What We Are All Doing Here”.
What makes Theater Aan Zee a major summer arts festival?
The Theater Aan Zee festival started in 1997 and is now one of Belgium’s main summer arts events. It takes place each year in Ostend and turns the city into a hub for theatre, music, literature, and visual arts. The program is built around a central theme and gives space to both well-known artists and new talent.
Many shows are performed for the first time at TAZ before going on tour in Belgium and abroad. Officials mentioned that the festival is known for bringing bold and creative work to the stage and for giving audiences a chance to see fresh and original productions.
