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Johan Simons (born 1946) began making a name for himself in 1985 when he became the director of Theatre Group Hollandia. His pioneering, highly expressive, site-specific performances allowed him to bring reality directly into the theatre.
Simons' interest in social engagement is also evident in his work with NTGent (from 2005).
His repertoire includes Greek tragedies, contemporary drama, plays by Shakespeare and Chekhov and book and film adaptations. In addition to his work as a theatre director, Simons also directs opera stagings, for example at the Paris Opéra and the Teatro Real in Madrid. Simons has received numerous awards for his work, including the European Prize for New Forms of Theatre (2001). He received an honorary doctorate from Ghent University in 2009.
In 2010, he became the intendant of the Munich Kammerspiele, one of Germany's most prestigious theatres. His productions, for which he always manages to assemble a troop of outstanding actors, have toured Europe and beyond to great success. In 2015, Simons became the intendant of the Ruhrtriennale, a festival for international theatre and musical theatre, which is held on former industrial sites spread across the Ruhr region. Simons is a member of the Akademie der Künste in Berlin.
'In my theatre, I tell big, humanist stories, looking for broad connections between the human and the political.' - Johan Simons