Collaborations

The exhibition L’Oiseau bleu. Op zoek naar geluk is a product of St. Peter’s Abbey Arts Centre Ghent, in collaboration with De Zwarte Doos – Stadsarchief and NTGent.

André Capiteyn (De Zwarte Doos - Stadsarchief Gent) and Martine Van Asch (St. Peter’s Abbey Arts Centre) were in charge of defining the composition and concept of the exhibition. Capiteyn manages the Maeterlinck Archive and has pulished Maeterlinck. Een Nobelprijs voor Gent (Snoeck Publishers & Stad Gent, 2008) and the traduction in Dutch of Maeterlinck’s childhood memoirs titled Bulles bleues. Herinneringen van geluk (Lannoo & Stad Gent, 2011).

The audio guides were realised in close collaboration with NTGent. Bernard Dewulf, winner of the Libris Literature Prize 2010, adapted the text in his characteristic understated style that perfectly matches the mood of L'Oiseau bleu. Actors from the permanent NTGent ensemble were responsible for the dialogues. The voices of top actors such as An Miller, Chris Thys, Els Dottermans, Oscar Van Rompay and Steven Watermeulen bring the tale to life. The arrangements of Ron Reuman draw the visitor into the fairy tale dream world of L'Oiseau bleu.

For the set design the original designs for the earliest performances of the miracle years were used. It is thanks to the cooperation of the Moscow Art Theatre Museum, the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge and De Munt in Brussels that beautiful costume designs and scenery models can transport visitors into the atmosphere of these very first performances.