The only way is up: the internationalisation of the Flemish performing arts

In 2016, Flanders Arts Institute found that – in a theatre landscape under increasing pressure – the number of (co-)producers had to increase in order to keep up the then growing production capacity. The number of foreign partners doubled every 6.15 years; can this be maintained? There have been smart mathematicians who have shown that exponential growth is not sustainable by definition.

This is a summary of the complete data analysis of the internationalisation of the production and distribution of the Flemish performing arts for the period from 2000 up to and including 2016 as published in Dutch on our Kunstenpunt-website. The report is part of the broader R&D process Reframing the International, which also investigates the international dimension of music and visual arts from Flanders and Brussels.

‘The Only Way is Up’ summarised

Compared to the beginning of the period under consideration, more shows were staged in recent seasons in which Flemish ensembles and production companies were involved. This is a result of an increase in the number of revivals of older productions. The number of new productions remained relatively stable throughout the period under study, until the last season. While during the first seasons new work was staged more often than old work, in the last three seasons it has been the reverse.

The number of stagings of Flemish productions outside Belgium grew between 2000 and 2016, as did the number of different countries in which these stagings took place. At the start of the millennium, half of all foreign stagings took place in the Netherlands. Sixteen seasons later, this number had been halved. France has overtaken the Netherlands as the main foreign market, and the number of stagings in other European countries and countries outside Europe has also grown significantly. Among the increased number of foreign stagings, there are especially more stagings of revivals.

Flemish ensembles and production companies increasingly seem to be abandoning the traditional, season-bound model, according to which a new production is created each season with which to tour Flanders. The tour possibly goes to the Netherlands and in later seasons the show is revived if it has proven to be successful. The figures show that another practice has become more common: productions are kept on the repertoire for longer (therefore there are more revivals) to serve a broader market than Belgium and the Netherlands (noticeable due to the increase in the number of stagings, especially of revivals, in France, the rest of Europe and the rest of the world).

In terms of production too there have been some fundamental changes between 2000 and 2016. There are more productions involving several main and/or co-producers. At the start of the period under study, there was only one ensemble or production company involved in more than half of the productions in the Flanders Arts Institute database. At the end of this period, about half of the productions involved the collaboration of three or more organisations.

The growth in collaborations is at the same time a growth in international collaborations: between 2000 and 2016 we see a four-fold increase of both the number of productions with at least one foreign partner and the number of foreign organisations with which collaborations are ongoing. Also, these foreign partners come from a greater range of countries than before, although most come from France, the Netherlands and Germany. Among the foreign organisations there are especially more co-producers, which indicates that main producers from Flanders seek investments from abroad more often (it is not possible to comment on the precise nature of the investments on the basis of the data available). The reverse also seems to happen, because the number of main producers from abroad that collaborate with one or several Flemish co-producers is also increasing.

The increased number of productions with at least one foreign partner is driving the growth in the number of foreign stagings and the greater diversity of countries in which this spread is occurring. So a connection emerges between the internationalisation in terms of this spread and that in terms of production. However, this does not mean that the situation for productions with exclusively Belgian partners has remained unchanged. Although the number of exclusively Belgian productions and the number of foreign stagings that they carry out have remained relatively stable throughout the seasons under study, this type of production is also being staged in a greater range of countries than before.

In the whole narrative about the internationalisation of the Flemish performing arts, leading roles have been reserved for the Netherlands and France. The Netherlands used to be the main foreign country and was in a sense a prolongation of the Flemish circuit. Several diagrams demonstrate that exceptional role. Across the 16 seasons, the top ten of the most important venues for Flemish work abroad is mostly filled by theatres in the Netherlands. For productions that focus less on the foreign market, the Netherlands was the most important market throughout the period under study.

In recent seasons, however, the Netherlands has acted more like ‘another foreign country’. The number of stagings by exclusively Belgian productions fell sharply between 2000 and 2016. At the same time, there are more Dutch partners in the production network of the Flemish performing arts. More than before, collaboration with a Dutch main or co-producer appears to be a factor in getting access to this Dutch market. Although the number of stagings of new creations in the Netherlands has fallen, it remains the most important foreign market for new productions. In addition, Dutch venues pop up among the main foreign stages, both for productions with many, and for productions with few, foreign stagings.

France has overtaken the Netherlands as the main foreign country, at least if we look at the number of stagings that take place there and the number of partners that come from this country. This might be a reaction to the fall in performance opportunities in the Netherlands. But contrary to that country, it is mainly productions which are geared towards the international market (which have often been on the company’s repertoire for a long time) that find a large market in France. The top ten of the venues that most often programmed Flemish productions also includes French theatres. However, the main venues in France act differently from those in the Netherlands. The most important Dutch venues programme short runs of many different Flemish productions. The principal French venues seem to choose for a limited number of Flemish productions, to which they then give many staging opportunities. In general, the Netherlands therefore offers a more diverse sample of Flemish performing arts than France.

The data in this study demonstrates the international success of the Flemish performing arts: productions from here appear more often on foreign stages, and the network of main and co-producers behind these shows has become a lot broader and has ramified over different countries. But this picture of growth comes with some considerations. The growth between 2000 and 2016 has mainly taken place in Europe: the number of stagings outside Europe and the number of non-European partners have both increased, but still form a minority. In addition, not every Flemish ensemble or production company has an extensive international activity. The number of productions with less than 20 foreign stagings is almost four times higher than the number of productions with 20 or more foreign stagings. And despite the strong growth in the number of productions with at least one foreign partner, exclusively Belgian organisations are involved in the majority of productions in each season.

From conversations with professionals from the Flemish performing arts – published in a separate report (Dutch) – we know that working internationally requires the necessary investments. Besides artistic and policy considerations, the financial aspect certainly plays a role in the choice not to work with foreign partners or not to play outside Belgium or only a little.

These conversations also offer other insight that we can relate to the data. For example, the professionals indicate that the contributions of co-producers have fallen in recent years compared to before, as a result of which they are forced to look for additional budgets. This explains the strong growth in the number of foreign co-producers. But there are signs that working internationally has recently reached its limits and is even under pressure. According to the professionals, in recent seasons the (co-production) budgets have reached a low point and co-producers are putting forward a greater number and a broader range of demands. Foreign theatres and festivals are allegedly taking a harder stance in financial negotiations or have started to focus more on the local performing arts. It also appears that foreign (and domestic) programmers are less willing to show new or recent work. These phenomena are possibly connected to the data from the most recent seasons and that announces an end to the growth. The number of foreign stagings and the number of different countries in which they have taken place stagnated between 2013 and 2016. The number of productions with at least one foreign partner dropped in the 2015-2016 season. The number of foreign stagings of these productions began to fall in the previous season already. Around the same period we see slight drops in the numbers of main and co-producers from abroad. The number of new productions has also experienced a dip in the latest season.

Credits

Simon Leenknegt
Data gathering and processing: Christel De Brandt & Tom Ruette