'I see that people are forced against each other and in silence, unknowingly, foolishly, obediently, innocently slay. I see that the smartest brains of the world invent weapons and words to make it all even more sophisticated and longer lasting.' Paul Bäumer, German soldier in the novel All Quiet on the Western Front.

Belgium 1914–18. Despite its neutrality, this small country has been, for over four years, the battlefield for foreign powers vying for supremacy in a horrifying conflict seemingly without end. On the Western Front, German, Flemish, French and British lie facing each other in the trenches.

Young men who went to war with a love of life are being traumatised by their experiences of a brutal conflict that will soon be known as the primal catastrophe of the 20th century – the First World War. The Great War.

In four languages and from four different perspectives, Flemish director Luk Perceval returns to the Festival for the first time since 2004's Andromache. An international ensemble combines Remarque's moving depiction of German soldiers' extreme mental and physical stress with Flemish contemporary sources to explore the horror from both sides of the trenches.

ingenious, subtle and unforgettable

The Wall Street Journal on Thalia Theater's Hamlet

visually stunning...conceptually elegant

Financial Times on Luk Perceval's Andromache

Sensational

The Guardian on Luk Perceval's Andromache

A co-production by Thalia Theater, Hamburg, and NTGent