What it is, is a "state of the arts" in Flanders and the Netherlands. But how the festival determines the qualifying programme is a complex - and quite fascinating - logistical arrangement.

To begin, the three jury members for the following year are announced during the festival. These jurors are on call throughout the coming year to see more than 100 performances each that were produced in Flanders or the Netherlands. Each juror is assigned certain productions, but the festival also maintains an alarm system. When one juror sees a potentially qualifying production, the other two are alerted and do their best to see the show.

Jurors meet monthly for discussions with Verboven, who also sees many of the productions (but has no vote on the jury). Come May, the choice is made. The jurors are not seeking a certain number of productions; rather, they are selecting those performances that made an impact, that reflect the state of artistic life in the Flemish/Dutch region. "The spoken language is not a factor in the jury's choice. What's important is the quality of the performance," Verboven explains. So, although most of the productions are, of course, in Dutch, you'll usually find one or two in English.

This year's selection includes 14 productions. Most years feature 10 or 11 but, hypothetically, the festival could choose to include just three if those were the only ones they felt had qualified.

Once the choice is made, Verboven and his team of two take over to organise a festival that includes all of the selections. This is not always possible - last year a particular production required such an unusual setting that they could not accommodate it. But it still qualified as a festival choice and was printed in the festival programme, albeit with a note that it could not be presented. Shows are usually staged at least twice and often more, unless budget or scheduling restraints make that impossible.

During the run-up to the festival, the jury develops texts that explain their choices - including what they did not choose. "This year's jury was really searching for a kind of authenticity," says Verboven, "artists who are struggling with ‘who am I as an artist? What's the relevance of my making theatre; why do I invite an audience?'"

The festival has been around nearly two decades, travelling back and forth between Brussels' Kaaitheater and Antwerp's deSingel. This year it's in Brussels and kicks off on 27 August with a "State of the Union", which gives a selected artist the chance to talk about the current condition of the arts in the region and in the world. Given the background of Sheffield-based actor, artistic director and playwright Tim Etchells, we can likely expect a more international perspective this time around.

It is an intense two weeks of non-stop productions, not to mention the extensive "parallel programme" featuring lectures, discussions, workshops, a festival radio station and a daily newsletter. The whole thing wraps up with an opportunity for audience members to discuss the jury's selections with the jurists.

De Keuze '09 (The Choice '09), as they call the programme, is definitely a diverse mix. Well-known Flemish playwrights and companies like Jan Decorte and Abattoir Fermé make appearances, as well as three productions that were also chosen by the festival's Dutch counterpart, the Nederlands Theater Festival, which runs next month in Amsterdam. These include Brandhout: Een irritate by Antwerp company tg STAN, who nail the delivery of the sardonic monologues from Austrian author Thomas Bernhard's book (known in English as Woodcutters) about the pretentiousness of the theatre.

The other two that made the cut in both festivals are Amateurs, a vehicle for two actors from Dutch theatre group Nieuw West about the cost of chasing your dreams, based on Krzysztof Kieslowski's film Camera Buff; and The Broken Circle Breakdown, a wildly popular music/theatre fusion from Ghent-based company Compagnie Cecilia. (It's already sold out.)

You'll notice that some selections this year aren't even performances: Flemish artist Benjamin Verdonck will present some of his installations from his ongoing art project Kalendar, while the photographs of 18 Maart - Muntplein recognises the significance of a demonstration by sans papiers singing the Belgian national anthem six months ago. The jury felt that the theatricality and political weight of that event warranted participation in the festival.

The festival does not seek out any particular themes, but Verboven sees some general trends emerging through the years. In earlier incarnations, artists were "looking at language - how do you communicate on stage. Now, some artists are thinking less about aesthetics and more about how their work is related to the rest of the world."

"Best of" or not, who could resist?

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