Needcompany, headed by Jan Lauwers and Grace Ellen Barkey, has now been creating avant-garde theatre of an international standard for 25 years. In order to shed some light on their unique working processes, they put on an annual presentation called Needlapb: a quite exceptional night to which a limited audience is invited.

There is a clear difference between the performances and the Needlapbs. In the performances the dramaturgical research that takes place during rehearsals congeals into a form that is as transparent as possible and ready for communication to the audience. Needlapb, on the other hand, is the uncongealed core of Needcompany, the place where the working process is fluid and dynamic and has not yet acquired a definite form.

A Needlapb is ‘an open thinking space with unlimited freedom’. A unique opportunity to take a look at the working process.

In spring 2009 Jan Lauwers wrote a new film script entitled Dead Deer Don’t Dance. Needlapb 16 is devoted entirely to this script. In Dogville, Lars Von Trier presented theatre on film, and now the Needcompany actors will be presenting a film in the theatre.


Needcompany | Hooikaai 35 | B-1000 Brussels
tel: +32 2/218 40 75 | fax: +32 2/218 23 17 | info@needcompany.org
Needlapb 1
Beursschouwburg, Brussels
21, 22 April 1999
Needlapb 2
Brigittinenkapel, Brussels
27, 28, 29 June 2001
Needlapb 3
STUK, Leuven
13, 14 November 2002
Needlapb 4
Kaaitheaterstudio’s, Brussels
27 June 2003
Needlapb 5
Vooruit, Ghent
10 February 2004
Needlapb 6
Théâtre de la Bastille, Paris
6, 7, 8 April 2004
Needlapb 7
Théâtre Garonne, Toulouse
24 April 2004
Needlapb 8
Deutsches Schauspielhaus, Hamburg
3 June 2004
Needlapb 9
TorinoDanza, Torino
20 February 2005
Needlapb 10
Festival d’Avignon, Avignon
18, 19, 20 July 2005
Needlapb 11
Kaaitheaterstudio’s, Brussels
12 October 2005
Needlapb 12
La Filature, Mulhouse
4 April 2006
Needlapb 13
Théâtre de la Ville, Paris
25 May 2006
Needlapb 14
Kaaitheaterstudio's, Brussels
10 May 2008
Needlapb 15
STUK, Leuven
20 May 2009
Needlapb 16
Akademietheater, Vienna
8, 9 September 2009