Tone Brulin

(Belgian, 11/05/1926)
Tone Brulin studied scenography at La Cambre (1943-1946) in Brussels. The director of the Institute at the time - the Flemish writer Herman Teirlinck - became Brulin's mentor. From 1946 to 1948 he studied at the Studio of the National Theatre in Antwerp.
Brulin co-founded the avant-garde literary magazines 'Tijd en Mens' (1948) with Hugo Claus and Louis-Paul Boon and 'Gard Sivik' (1952) with Hugues Pernath and Paul Snoek.
In 1953 he co-founded the Nederlands Kamertoneel in Antwerp and directed its first small experimental theatre play.
Brulin gained recognition as a playwright after having won the Prize of the Boekenweek (Week of Books) in Amsterdam (1953). He was also awarded the Cultural Youth Passport Prize, the Hegenscheidt Prize of Sabam, the Hustinckx Prize, the National State Prize for Playwrights and the Medallion of Honor of the Township of Brussels.
While studying at La Cambre, he played the prince of Aragon in Shakespeare's 'The Merchant of Venice', directed by Gust Maes at the KVS (Royal Flemish Theatre) in Brussels.
Continuously looking for further self-development and training, Brulin traveled the world. In New York he followed classes with Lee Strasberg at the Actor's Studio.
Back in Belgium, he returned to the KVS to direct several of his own plays. A tour in Congo with the KVS was the start for a working period in Africa. He directed several pieces for the South African National Theatre/Nasionale Toneel in Pretoria and founded Die Kamertoneel/The Chambre Theatre after its Antwerp model. Amongst others he directed 'Waiting for Godot', in which he took up the role of Vladimir himself.
Brulin returned to Europe with 'Les Chiens', an anti-apartheid play that was put on stage by different companies in several countries: the National Theatre of Algeria in the Magreb, the Théàtre de le Commune d'Aubervilliers (director Gabriel Garran), the Théàtre du Parc in Brussels (director Ton Lutz), in Berlin, Warsaw, Ljubljana …
With the South-African writer Athol Fugard he founded the New Africa Group. They performed at the Festival of Avant-garde theatre in the Brussels' Palais des Beaux Arts.
In the 1960s Brulin was mainly active as a director for the Belgian television, while also teaching at the RITCS - a new director's training in Brussels.
In 1967 Tone Brulin represents the Belgian delegation at the Congres of the International Theatre Institute in Warschau. Impressed by the work of Grotowski, Brulin maps it in the international theatre community.
In 1970 Brulin directed 'Saboo', the first production of the Théâtre Laboratoire Vicinal with Frédéric Flamand.
In the 1970s he taught at several Drama departments in the United States before moving to Curacao where he worked with different groups on the Dutch Antilles. Together with some of his students at Antich College he founded the Curacao de Otrabanda Company. 'The Kaakamakaakon, one of their plays, premièred in La Mama in New York'.
From 1972 onwards Tone Brulin worked as a professor of drama at the Sains University on the island of Penang in Malaysia. After his return to Europe, he took a position at the Theatre Academy in Maastricht in the Netherlands. In 1975 he established TIE 3, the Theatre of the Third World, the first company in Belgium to assimilate the work of third world artists. Between 1975 and 1985 they developed an engaged multicultural repertory of African and Asian pieces such as 'Kapai-Kapai', 'Ba Anansi', 'Charkawa' and 'Gilgamesh' by amongst others Rendra, Edgar Cairo, Wilson Harris, Wole Soyenka. The pieces of TIE 3 toured at festivals around the world.
In 1992 Tone Brulin decorated the Metro Bizet in Anderlecht (Brussels).