Lies Pauwels

Lies Pauwels (b. 1968, Ghent) is both a director and an actress. She has appeared in the legendary productions of Alain Platel and Arne Sierens, and has collaborated with countless artists and companies, including Tg STAN, Het Toneelhuis, Dood Paard, Eric De Volder, Dimitri Verhulst and Josse De Pauw. She has created many productions at home and abroad, including at the Manchester International Festival, Schauspielhaus Bochum and the Burgtheater in Vienna. At Hetpaleis in Antwerp, she created Het Hamiltoncomplex, a production that achieved success both in Flanders and internationally. Lies is one of LOD’s resident artists. Do the Calimero was her first production with LOD muziektheater.

Her work is characterised by a realism that is unique in theatre. The performances often stem from a fascination with extraordinary people or situations, but time and again Pauwels succeeds in using these seemingly extravagant starting points as a catalyst for a much more universal story. For ultimately, we are all people who struggle with the same problems, who suffer from the same limitations and who, in the end, can only do their best to make something of it, despite everything.

In January 2024, Lies Pauwels’ second major production at LOD, Love Doll playing with the big boys in a different kind of space, premiered.