Ruud Gielens, born in Belgium in 1977, studied directing in Brussels. After graduation, he created sets, video designs, directed plays and performed as an actor himself – among others at the Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz and the Deutsches Nationaltheater in Weimar. Gielens has been part of the artistic direction of the Koninklijke Vlaamse Schouwburg in Brussels since 2005. He has lived in Cairo for the past three years.