Sabine Theunissen

After studying architecture in Brussels, Sabine Theunissen spent a year working with the technical team at La Scala, Milan, before joining the design department at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels, where she worked from 1995 to 2012, developing projects with numerous designers and directors. She has worked closely with William Kentridge since 2003 and designed many of the sets for his productions.

Among the plays and operas for which she has designed the sets and costumes are La dispute, La giostra d’amore, Marrakesh and Hors-Champ in Brussels, Ariane et Barbe-Bleue at the Opéra de Dijon, Radioscopies in Mons and Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Théâtre des Martyrs in Brussels.

For William Kentridge she has designed the sets for a production of Die Zauberflöte seen not only at the Théâtre de la Monnaie (2005) but also at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and La Scala; The Nose at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and the Opéra de Lyon (2010); Refuse the Hour as part of the 2012 Holland Festival; Winterreise at the 2014 Vienna Festival; and Lulu at the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam (2015).

She has also created the designs for various exhibitions, including The Body in Indian Art at the Europalia Arts Festival in Brussels, 1,000m² of Desire at the Centre de Cultura Contemporània in Barcelona, No it is! William Kentridge at the 2016 Berlin Festival and Foreign Affairs Festival and Thick Time at the Whitechapel Gallery in London as well as other exhibitions showcasing Kentridge’s work in Beijing and Seoul. She also worked on Kentridge’s video installation The Refusal of Time that was first seen at documenta 13 in 2012.

Sabine Theunissen teaches at various institutions. Plans include Aurore Fattier’s production of Bug at the Théâtre Varia in Brussels, a production that will also be seen at the Théâtre Royal de Namur and the Théâtre de Liège.

Current as of August 2017