Troupe Courage makes theatre in the spirit of Commedia Dell'arte, a theatre form that is one of the highlights of European theatre history. While Italy was in crisis, these acting companies flourished. There was one thing in which these actor companies were absolute masters: survival. They were bread players who mocked power. However much Italian authority figures tried to ban their play, actors kept reinventing their craft, which had a hugely emancipatory effect on the people. Crisis after crisis the actor groups managed to overcome.

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When the actors were forbidden to perform dialogues, they broke through the fourth wall to speak to the audience, when they were forbidden to speak at all, they created grammelot (a self-devised theatre language), when they were forbidden to speak at all, they specialised in (panto)mime, when they were forbidden to play in the city, they travelled to the countryside and when they were forbidden to sell tickets, the actors decided to go around with their caps. Suddenly, the common people saw the roles reversed. Not only in the scene but also in reality, these actors reversed power and the common people came to power.

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Troupe Courage makes theatre on that spirit of the Commedia dell'Arte in their very own modern style. Playful and precise. The work requires intensive training and is easy to fall in love with. The playful and positive approach, from a very own pedagogy, creates openness to creation and innovation.

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