BGT ENGLISH LANGUAGE THEATRE

The Berliner Grundtheater e.V. (BGT) was founded in Berlin in 1991 and is dedicated to producing a wide range of English-language plays, while integrating players of different nationalities. In addition to playing many seasons in Berlin, the company has also performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and at Anglo-German Festivals in Germany, and is now based permanently in Luxembourg.

The BGT repertoire includes shows by authors as varied as Peter Shaffer, Anthony Minghella, Oscar Wilde and William Shakespeare. The company also produces original scripts, such as adaptations of JANE EYRE (2010), LITTLE WOMEN (2014) and A CHRISTMAS CAROL (2016) and in January 2020 it premiered June Lowery's CHARLES DICKENS, THE BEST OF MEN; THE WORST OF MEN. The company is especially committed to promoting theatre for female actors and writers who are under-represented in the theatre and performance world. Shows like WOLVES ARE COMING FOR YOU (2019), PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK (2018) DAVID'S REDHAIRED DEATH (2020), WE HAPPY FEW (2021) and most recently DI AND VIV AND ROSE (2022) , DAISY PULLS IT OFF (March 2024) & most recently AMARE (2025) all featured mostly - if not only - women actors as part of the company's policy to put women centre stage.

In addition to our policy of promoting plays by and about women, in recent years the company has also focused on promoting young performers and traineee or aspiring actors who are hoping to work in theatre. It is a co-sponsor of FEST (The FESTIVAL OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE SCHOOL THEATRE) which takes place every second year in Luxembourg (https://www.fest.lu/) and in 2019 started a summer programme giving trainee actors a contract to work on a show. Our recent production of Elo!ise Heger-Hedloy's new play I CAN'T TELL YOU ... BUT YOU FEEL IT, (April 2023) and THE GOOD GUY? by Ferelith Kingston continue these policies.

COMING NEXT

FEST 26

The Festival of English-Language School Theatre 2026

26th & 28th February 2026

Rotondes - Black Box Studio

Place des Rotondes, L- 2448 Luxembourg-Bonnevoie

Tickets: on sale December 2025

With English becoming ever more important as the language of communication and business in the modern world, the need for children to use the language is now essential. Several secondary schools around the Grand-Duchy have in recent years augmented their normal English classes with English theatre options or extra-curricular activities, giving students a chance to improve their language abilities by using it practically on the stage.

To celebrate and encourage this development, in 2018, 2020 and in 2022 the FESTIVAL OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE SCHOOL THEATRE (FEST) was held in Mersch – and in 2024, it was held at the Rotondes in Luxembourg-City. Ten schools and over 100 students from Luxembourg participated in each event, which attracted over 1000 spectators. They proved so successful that a 5th Festival – FEST 2026 – will take place at the Rotondes on 27 and 28 February, organised by FEST a.s.b.l.

This exciting Festival will give secondary schools from all over Luxembourg the chance to perform short one-act theatre pieces in English to the general public over the course of a weekend. It will be an opportunity to see some of the talented young actors currently performing in English theatre school groups and classes.

It will give the students the possibility not only to act in an established venue, but also to see others of their own age performing and to hear English spoken by both native and non-native speakers. Participants will be able to find out how other schools are benefiting from using theatre in their English teaching programmes and to share best practice ideas with other pupils and teachers who are doing similar projects.

BGT Theatre is delighted to be a sponsor and supporter of FEST 26

For more information about FEST 26 - and it's green commitments see BGT - FEST 26

or go to www.fest.lu

RECENTLY PERFORMED

AMARE

a new play by Hanne Siebens

Performed in February 2025 at the Drama Studio, Lycée Michel Rodange

“AMARE” is a new, experimental piece, by Hanne Siebens (final-year Drama Student at the ISL Luxembourg) which looks at the different types of love, as defined by the ancient Greeks. Through a series of short, but interlinked, sketches and monologues we are shown love as represented by a mix of relationships, both now and “then”. We are given short glimpses into the lives of married couples, children and parents, new young love … and love of those who have passed on.

But what happens when a love which looks joyous at the start becomes something dark and obsessive?

Behind it all stands the figure of Cupid both guiding and, seemingly, manipulating these relationships. But can even this “God of Love” control the most potent of human emotions without falling victim to its power?
he BGT Theatre Company is delighted to have the opportunity to present this new and experimental piece of work by a young and promising writer and actress. Helping to develop the text through a series of workshops during the summer of 2024, this is the latest BGT play to put WOMEN CENTRE STAGE and to encourage young, new talent.

With: Kim Birel, Sammy Braun, Bjørn Clasen, Sabrina Fernandez, Adriana Gospodinova, Rewa Jain, Josie Hatch, June Lowery, Gilles Fernandes Mota,

Cailin Reiff, Nina Ruggieri, Natacha Stevenin & Max Wagnitz

Directed by Tony Kingston & Hanne Siebens

BGT - AMARE - CAST AND CREW

SHOW PHOTOS COURTESY OF CHRONICLE.LU

Kim Birel as Cupid; Natacha Stevenin as Amelia

Josie Hatch as Willow

Nina Ruggieri as Jackie; Rewa Jain as Lina

With the kind assistance of the Lycée Michel Rodange, Luxembourg

INTERVIEWS & PREVIEWS

Chronicle.lu review - February 6th 2025

Chronicle.lu interview with Hanne Siebens

Luxembourg Times preview (22nd January)

Radio Ara "Happy Hour" Interview with Hanne Siebens & Josie Hatch

RTL Today - interview with Melissa Dalton (11th January)

CHRONICLE. LU Preview December 2024

“The Good Guy?”

a new play by

Ferelith Kingston

Winner of the “Special Mention by the Jury” Prize at the Prix Laurence 2023

With Alessandro Stasi, Natacha Stevenin, Josie Hatch and Gilles Fernandes Mota

"INCEL: a person (usually a man) who regards himself or herself as being involuntarily celibate and typically expresses extreme resentment and hostility toward those who are sexually active" (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

“The Good Guy?” is a new play that explores the impact that enforced gender norms have on young people growing up in the digital age. Online extremism, especially extreme misogyny, has been normalised to the extent that, for many young adults and teens, it has become an invisible background noise. The result a rise in online communities like "incels" (involuntary celibates) and the popularity of figures like Andrew Tate and Jordan Peterson. “The Good Guy?” examines what the real-world impact of this pervasive online rhetoric is, through two voices.

Dylan and Katie are two 20-somethings whose stories are separate but mirror each other.

Dylan, lonely and socially awkward, gets company from the online society around a popular video game. He is led to believe he has found a support group and even friends. But, in reality, he is getting sucked into an almost cult-like belief that women are the root of all his problems.

Katie doesn’t get why feminism “had to be such a big deal”. She discovers “pop feminism” at a TEDTALK and starts to feel that she has a community around her; but as she learns about the reality of extreme misogyny and incel sub-culture she increasingly anxious, fearful and frustrated by the apathy shown by her friends and family.

Their stories unfold in a blend of sometimes comic, sometime tragic scenes and monologues. As the play develops the two stories become more heavily intertwined building towards a potentially explosive climax.

REVIEWS

Luxembourg Times Review

Chronicle.lu Review

FOR INTERVIEWS WITH THE COMPANY, SEE