Varia — Theatre & Studio
Season’s Preamble
For this 2026–27 season, we wanted to create a space for dialogue around our programme.
We went to meet four women whose words are rooted in their practices, their research and their commitments. Four perspectives grounded in reality, in dialogue with the narratives that guide our season.
Through these unique voices that question the world, we affirm the importance of telling a complex reality in a multifaceted way.
Let yourself be carried away by these lively and insightful opinion pieces, written by Rachel Brahy, sociologist, researcher and lecturer at the University of Liège, Laure de Hesselle, journalist at Imagine Magazine, Céline Nieuwenhuys, General Secretary of the Federation of Social Services, and Nathalie Zaccaï-Reyners, Senior Research Fellow at the Belgian National Research Fund (FNRS).
Introduction
Le Varia – Théâtre & Studio is one of the six Performing Arts Centres of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation.
Located in the heart of the capital since its foundation in 1981, it houses two performance spaces, the Théâtre Varia and the Studio Varia, as well as various rehearsal spaces, spread across two buildings.
A place of discovery, encounters and inspiration, Varia supports and nurtures contemporary Belgian creativity in all its diversity.
Supported by the permanent team and the 11 partner artists and collectives she has invited to make Varia their long-term home, Coline Struyf, appointed director in July 2021, is spearheading an ambitious artistic project.
Varia offers an open-minded and unrestrained programme, opening the stage to new narratives, hybrid aesthetics and creators with diverse identities, inviting all audiences to question the complexity of the world and to celebrate the inexhaustible richness of our imaginations.
Studio Varia
Keep an eye out for the subtle, the diverse and the unconventional at Studio Varia!
At 154 Gray Street lies a vibrant, bustling creative hub where, every day, new facets of our imaginations blossom: Studio Varia. A laboratory for work and exploration, home to artists who, throughout the year, come here to nurture the seeds of their future shows. But also a performance space, where a programme specifically geared towards new, daring and unruly forms is staged.
Dedicated in particular to emerging works, but also to performances by established artists keen to explore more intimate, hybrid or experimental formats, the Studio is designed as a space for fruitful encounters and supportive exchanges. A realm of discovery and curiosity, open to all audiences eager to engage with unexpected artistic languages, to experience new and radical aesthetics, or to unearth the emerging talents who will one day grace the major stages.
At the Studio, we want to take the time to weave new stories together. We want to challenge ourselves and allow ourselves to be surprised. To remain on the lookout for the sensitive, the diverse, the unruly. We want to keep an open window in our outlook to welcome fictions, perspectives and reflections of the world that are not seen elsewhere. To restore value to the immediacy of artistic gestures, taken at their very root. In short, we want to rediscover the joy of a very close connection between creators and audiences, to celebrate, with complete confidence, the element of the unknown and vulnerability inherent in every act of creation.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS and thoughts SEASON 25–26
To the Finance and Administration Department: A huge thank you to Abdel Makoudi, whose commitment and hard work have been invaluable to the continued success of this wonderful venue. He has always worked tirelessly to ensure the highest standards of support for artists at the Varia; to the outreach team: Manon Dujardin, Ilaria Cascone; to the box office: Alice Barbieri; to the technical team: Brice Agnès, Ondine Delaunois, Yorrick Detroy, Giulio Erasmus, Jean-Maël Guyot, Clara Dumont, Gleb Panteleeff, Idrissa Sawadogo, Noemi Scantamburlo, Sam Seraille, Alice Spenlé, Akram Zoubeir, the many technicians who provide support throughout the year and the vocational training interns; and to Aya Aarab in communications.
COMMUNICATIONS CONTRIBUTORS
Graphic design and visual identity: Bye Bye Binary, Kidnap your designer Website development: Bien à vous
Authors: Raïssa Alingabo, Yowali M’bilo, Emilie Flamant
Videographer: José Huedo Photographers: A.Piemme / AML
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Edith Bertholet, Céline Cocq, Christine Guillain, Christine Grégoire, Rabab Khairy, Vincent Raoult, Sabine Ringelheim and Fatoumata Sidibé
COMPANIES AND ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE
Clément Thirion / kosmocompany
Florence Minder / Venedig Meer
Armel Roussel / [e]utopia
Leslie Mannès / Hirschkuh
Job vacancies and work placements
We currently have no vacancies at Varia.
For unsolicited applications and internship enquiries, please send your cover letter and CV to the head of the relevant department, or to info@varia.be.
Partners
Public Authorities
Media Partners
Cultural Partners
With whom we join forces and pool our resources to produce and present performances.
HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS
We collaborate with institutions whose work supports the integration of future professionals in the performing arts.
EFPME Stage Management Section: U25 Performance Technician and U31 Performance Costumes at INSAS
ADULT EDUCATION
Agnès Varda School of Photography and Visual Techniques
ASSOCIATIONS AND LOCAL AUTHORITIES
Who trust us to work together on cultural outreach projects
L’Autre « lieu » - R.A.P.A.
Collectif Alpha St Gilles
Forest
Council’s Senior Citizens’ Service Lire et Ecrire – Ixelles CentreASSOCIATION PARTNERS
Article 27
Les Ambassadeurs d’Expression Citoyenne
Brussels FLE
Radio Panik
Young Thinkers
Reciproque
Infor Jeunes Laeken
CRUSH PARTNERS
Wallonia-Brussels
National Theatre Théâtre les Tanneurs
Le Rideau