Dramatist and artist Jan Lauwers, studied painting at the Academy of Art in Ghent. In 1979 he formed the ›Epigonenensemble‹ which transformed in 1981 into the ›Epigonentheater zlv‹ collective which took the theatre-world by surprise with its direct, concrete, highly visual stage productions using music and language. Jan Lauwers disbanded this collective in 1985 and in 1986 founded Needcompany (BE) with Grace Ellen Barkey. Lauwers background as a visual artist has been decisive in his handling of the medium of theatre and has led to a highly individual and in many ways pioneering theatrical idiom which challenges established perceptions of realistic, linear, rational theatre, and also seeks to shorten the traditional distance between actors and audience by questioning the nature of the performance moment, while directly involving the spectator.