Jo Roets studied at the theatrical academy of Maastricht and has been working as an actor, playwright and director since 1989. He was one of the originators of the Antwerp puppet theatre company Froe Froe and a co-founder of Blauw Vier, which, in 2001, was renamed Laika, theatre of the senses. Jo Roets is the artistic director of the company. For his productions, Roets often starts from literary classics, which he pares down to their essence. He has written and directed plays based on the work of Edmond Rostand (the Rostand trilogy: Cyrano,Napolejong,Cantecleir), Fyodor Dostoevsky (De Karamazovs, De idioot) and William Shakespeare (De twaalfde\nnacht, Ongelikt-King Lear). For Laika?s sensory productions (PEEP&EAT, Coupe Royale, Patatboem, Percursos, Sensazione), he works in close collaboration with Peter De Bie. His plays have been performed in Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland, the USA and Croatia. In 1998, the Seattle Children's Theatre invited him to produce a remake of Cyrano. He is currently a guest lecturer at the Toneelacademie Maastricht. The work of Jo Roets has frequently been nominated for awards: the Signaal Award, the Hans Snoek Award and the VVTS-Toneelschrijfprijs. In 1993, he was nominated for the Henriëtte Hustinx Award (Maastricht) and in 1997 and 1998 for the Océ Podium Prize. In 1998, Cantecleir won the Veronica Award. Laika was selected twice for the Belgian-Dutch Theaterfestival: in 2001 (De Karamazovs) and in 2002 (Peer, directed by Noël Fischer). Soepkinders earned four nominations in 2005, including one for best direction.
Cyrano
