Right of reply Troubleyn / Jan Fabre

Just before its announced publication, Vzw Troubleyn and Jan Fabre were made aware of the open letter distributed by the Institute For The Equality For Women And Men on behalf of a number of former members of the company.

Lees hier de Nederlandse versie

We stand accused of inappropriate behavior, and it is moreover stated that the company doesn’t react properly to these situations. We deplore this attack via the media, as this constitutes an unfair public trial. Jan Fabre is being publicly shamed without any form of defense, on the basis of anonymous testimony and allegations that are difficult to verify.

The company was not contacted in advance by the Institute For The Equality For Women And Men to engage in a dialogue on the matter, nor by the initiators of the open letter. We have no knowledge of the identity of the signatories of the letter, but hereby invite both them and the institute to engage in a serene and open dialogue on this topic, instead of via the media.

A clear line is drawn at Troubleyn: everything must happen with mutual consent and respect.

Due to the extensive media coverage about harassment in the cultural sector worldwide in 2017, we have decided, as have many other organizations last year, to proactively review and refine the existing internal procedures.

In the open letter we read various stories regarding Jan Fabre’s way of working. It’s no secret that Jan has a strong personality and a straightforward style as a director. However, this doesn’t mean that there would be a case of sexual harassment.

As a company, we ask and receive a great deal from our female as well as male actors and dancers, allowing us to produce outstanding and radical theatre. Any artistic process may at times lead to sensitive grounds: what may be perfectly acceptable to one actor or dancer, may not be acceptable to another.

Troubleyn disputes the insinuations that inappropriate behavior is somehow covered up.

However, a clear line is drawn at Troubleyn: everything must happen with mutual consent and respect. We force no-one to engage in certain actions that are percieved by him or her to be improper behavior. We have applied this basic philosophy for the past 40 years, and have explicitly stressed it once again internally due to the media attention in 2017.

Troubleyn disputes the insinuations that inappropriate behavior is somehow covered up. In the letter, it’s stated that there is no open platform where this can be brought up. This is incorrect. Moreover, our work rules provide the possibility to consult a person of trust internally, or to call upon the external prevention service IDEWE.

Troubleyn welcomes a direct and serene debate with the parties involved. We find it odd that the Institute For The Equality For Women And Men, which acts as a spokesperson, chooses to disregard its role as mediator and immediately had this letter published in the media without first contacting the company.