The Belgian theatre-performance-group Ontroerend Goed (a punning name, roughly translated as “Feel Estate”) produces self-devised work grounded in the here and now, inviting their audiences to participate as well as observe.

They first emerged on the international scene in 2007, with The Smile Off Your Face, a one-on-one show in which the audience is tied to a wheelchair and then blindfolded. Their hit show Once and For All… was an uncompromising celebration of raw teenage energy on stage. With every new piece of work, Ontroerend Goed provides an intense experience constructed in reality; life goes on during the performance. Their work is currently being performed in countries around the world.

Ontroerend Goed functions as a collective guided by the artistic director Alexander Devriendt, one of the founders of the company. Convinced that every idea deserves its own brand of artistic expression, the company cherishes a sense of ownership for every single contributor to their work, from actors to light designers, scenographers to conceptual thinkers. Ontroerend Goed fabricates possible realities that question how we as individuals position ourselves in the world today. Covering a history of the universe in one evening, turning spectators into voters who eliminate actors, guiding strangers through a labyrinth of mirrors and avatars to meet themselves, the company has made it its trademark to be unpredictable in content and form.

History
Ontroerend Goed has spent the last twenty-five years redefining what theatre can be in the modern world. Founded as a literary collective exploring the boundaries of poetry, the company evolved into a genre-transcending theatre ensemble that creates innovative, accessible performances for both national and international audiences. Their work reflects the challenges of our rapidly changing world while inviting audiences to engage with the fundamental questions of our time.

The company's philosophy centers on the belief that there’s "No theatre without audience" – a principle that goes far beyond traditional spectatorship. Ontroerend Goed consistently questions the apparent certainties of theatre, experimenting playfully with form and content while maintaining intellectual rigor. Their signature unpredictability and focus on the "here-and-now" has established them as pioneers in interactive theatre, drawing inspiration equally from games, pop culture, scientific theories, and high art.

Artistic approach and methodology
Ontroerend Goed employs a conceptual approach to theatre-making. Each performance begins with a clear, often playful concept that serves as a framework for exploring deeper themes. They've presented democracy through live audience voting on actors (Fight Night, 2013), financial crisis as an interactive casino (£¥€$, 2017), or underground movements through online one-on-one interviews (T.M., 2021). These conceptual layers reveal increasingly complex meanings while remaining engaging and accessible.

The company's creative process is research-intensive, drawing primarily from scientific non-fiction rather than traditional theatrical literature.

Ontroerend Goed's work spans a spectrum from traditional theatre performances to fully interactive individual experiences, with many productions exploring hybrid forms between passive viewing and active participation. The theatre's "blackbox" becomes a space for confronting life's incomprehensible complexity and humanity's position within it.

International impact and innovation
The company's international breakthrough came with The Smile Off Your Face (2004), which The Guardian named among the 50 best performances of the 21st century. This piece established their reputation as pioneers in participatory theatre and launched an international career spanning every inhabited continent.

Since 2016, Ontroerend Goed has developed a "remake" model for international distribution. Rather than simply touring with the same cast, they train local actors to recreate performances in their native languages and cultural contexts. This approach began with a Russian version of A Game of You in Moscow and has since expanded to include Mandarin, Cantonese, Swedish, Italian, and French versions of various shows. These remakes aren't mere translations but genuine cultural adaptations that maintain the original's conceptual integrity while gaining new layers of meaning.

Legacy and reputation
From early descriptions as "provocateurs" and "troublemakers," Ontroerend Goed has evolved into what international critics now call "profound thinkers." They've maintained their playful spirit while building substantial expertise and craftsmanship. In a time when the world is at crisis, audiences don’t need more shock therapy. They need connection. That is why they named their last trilogy 'An Hour Spent With Others'. Alexander Devriendt: "After Funeral, where we explore new mourning rituals, and Thanks for Being Here, an ode to the audience, we entrust the entire performance to the spectators in Handle with Care. This time we fully embrace the collective aspect of that experience: the communal, the connection. And it's wonderful that there's no one there to see it, except the audience themselves."

Alexander Devriendt: “With Handle with Care, we've truly pushed the boundaries of what theatre can be, exploring how we can connect not just with audiences next to us, but with those in theatres worldwide we may never meet. And this time not digitally, but through pure analog magic. What wasn't relevant decades ago has become more vital than ever: understanding our responsibility for one another across distances and differences.”

Ontroerend Goed is: Alexander Devriendt,  Charlotte De Bruyne, Karolien De Bleser, Aurélie Lannoy, Leonore Spee, Samir Veen, Remi Cosijn, Wim Smet, Justine Boutens Hannes Pieters, Luna Boone & Beth Thyrion