Chicago,
Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
May 6, 7, 9
Born of a rift between French and Dutch speakers in the Belgian city of Leuven, Louvain-la-Neuve, one of Europe’s youngest cities, dates back to 1971 and has a history of creating new traditions.
It is home to the French-speaking Université Catholique de Louvain, which is set apart by a style of student living, known as the kot à projet, whereby students live together and work together on a cultural or community project.
One of these organises annually the “Universatil” festival of French-language drama.
After decades of spoken theatre, for the first time in May, it is also daring to put on a musical.
“We wanted to do a musical because it’s really rare to see well-known Broadway or West End shows produced in the French-speaking part of Belgium,” said Brendan Jacobs, president of the organising committee.
The entirely student team chose “Chicago,” he said, for practical reasons: it is small, requiring only 18 live musicians, and the cast is not male-dominated, which was particularly important when the number of women students auditioning far outnumbered the men.
Practicalities aside, Jacobs said “Chicago” is thematically “super-relevant”, raising issues including “manipulation by the press, obsession with fame, how justice can be twisted by public opinion”.
The musical is translated into French and Jacobs has no concerns about anti-U.S. feeling linked to the turbulence caused by Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Set in the 1920s, when anxiety about the rise of popularism was at least high as it is now, Jacobs says “Chicago” provides “a critical perspective”.
In Belgium, it also has novelty value as the French-speaking world is unused to the musicals that are unavoidable on Broadway and in the West End.
Whether it will become another Louvain-la-Neuve tradition has yet to be seen.
Barbara Lewis © 2025.
Chicago,
Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
May 6, 7, 9
Born of a rift between French and Dutch speakers in the Belgian city of Leuven, Louvain-la-Neuve, one of Europe’s youngest cities, dates back to 1971 and has a history of creating new traditions.
It is home to the French-speaking Université Catholique de Louvain, which is set apart by a style of student living, known as the kot à projet, whereby students live together and work together on a cultural or community project.
One of these organises annually the “Universatil” festival of French-language drama.
After decades of spoken theatre, for the first time in May, it is also daring to put on a musical.
“We wanted to do a musical because it’s really rare to see well-known Broadway or West End shows produced in the French-speaking part of Belgium,” said Brendan Jacobs, president of the organising committee.
The entirely student team chose “Chicago,” he said, for practical reasons: it is small, requiring only 18 live musicians, and the cast is not male-dominated, which was particularly important when the number of women students auditioning far outnumbered the men.
Practicalities aside, Jacobs said “Chicago” is thematically “super-relevant”, raising issues including “manipulation by the press, obsession with fame, how justice can be twisted by public opinion”.
The musical is translated into French and Jacobs has no concerns about anti-U.S. feeling linked to the turbulence caused by Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Set in the 1920s, when anxiety about the rise of popularism was at least high as it is now, Jacobs says “Chicago” provides “a critical perspective”.
In Belgium, it also has novelty value as the French-speaking world is unused to the musicals that are unavoidable on Broadway and in the West End.
Whether it will become another Louvain-la-Neuve tradition has yet to be seen.
Barbara Lewis © 2025.
By Barbara Lewis • added recently on London Grip, musicals, theatre • Tags: Barbara Lewis, musicals, theatre