About Us.

The "Mireille & Mathieu" theatre performances are a strongly visual experience. What gets us going are our impulsive fantasy and our very particular sense of humor.  We are always looking for  means to appeal on the emotional side of our public by making use of very familiar objects: dolls, cuddly toys, teddybears and...  every other object you tend to discard in throw in the bin...

"Mireille & Mathieu" are a small team of very passionate people.
Here we come....

Kathleen Wijnen

Has a great deal of imagination.  As a toddler she already performed a complete puppet show, just by making use of her toes.  No wonder she carried on her studies and life thereafter lounging about in rather artistic spheres.  From school-age onwards all her attention focused in this direction: Art school, ballet, jazz-ballet, ceramics, graphics, artistic higher secondary school to end up studying film and photography in art school in Gent.  As a photographer she had a few exhibitions, for example in Galeria 12 A in Lissabon, where she decided to put up her tents for a year...  supported by a Flemish Government grant.

Back in Gent out of this pupa unfolded a many winged artistic butterfly.  She is working with/for "Un oeuf is un oeuf / Biters Productions", "Garden of Delights", Enact VZW, BarBaBelge, Cultural Department of the town of Gent...  as camera-assistant, creating photographic animation, producer of video-background projections, participant in several exhibitions, producer of photographic catalogues, photographer, and in 1995 she hops on to the stage for the first time as an actor in a production of the 'Garden of Delights'. 
She meets Erik Bassier on de film set of "Place Hasard" and a year later they start the rather successful 'punkpuppetheatre'-group Mireille & Mathieu.  She acts in 'de drie badhuisjes' ("The three bath-cubicles...") a production for toddlers produced by 'Het Paleis' and in "Porror 3" a production of "Ontroerend Goed".  She is also working as a freelance setting up exhibitions all over Europe, and is perfecting herself in the fields of singing, computers and deep sea-diving... 

Erik Bassier

was born in Gent, 27th october 1963.  Spends a happy youth in Germany, Wallonia and Brabant only to return to his native town, Gent, there to study the graphic arts at the "K.A.S.K"  However, being a rather restless type of fellow, he discovers the theatre and acting when participating in 1990 at 'Inmachinatie', an evocative by "Theater Malpertuis", Tielt.  The year after he is part of the group "Enact" and produces "Place  Hazard", film that gets awarded first prize by Sabam.  It's then he meets Kathleen Wijnen and in 1996 they conceive of the crazy idea of a "recycled- parts puppet show"and some time later give birth to the "MIREILLE & MATHIEU " show.
As a free-lance actor Erik Bassier worked for Dinska Bronska, Blauw Vier/Laika, Woestijn 93, HetPaleis, Anna's Steen,Ultima Tule and many others. 
With DuoXXI and Frederik Croene he created "Action Zjoezjoe".  His face is to be seen, every now and then in the popular Flemish TV-series "Heterdaad", "Stille Waters", "Flikken", "Witse" and "Familie") and also in some commercials. 
As a director he led Theatre "Woelwater", "Wouter Deprez", "Bij De Vieze Gasten". As a graphic artist he designs posters for theatre, logotypes and T-shirts (a.o. for Kommil Foo, Bij'De Vieze Gasten, Mireille & Mathieu). 
He plays the clarinet with Vooruit Met De Kuit, De Propere Fanfare and Harmonieorkest Guy Duyck.  With Frederik Croene he produced 'Pianos Palliatifs' during the Internationaal Straattheaterfestival at the "Gentse Feesten".

Esther Maas

Is de baby in the gang.  Mireille & Mathieu recognised her potential and waited patiently till the fruit was ready to be picked and put on stage, event that took place in 2004.  No nothing artistic education for Ester.  She's just a plain product of the "Modern Languages"but shows a definite deviation towards theatre and the performing arts.  And cookery.  Before joining "Mireille & Mathieu" she had been trying her hand (and feet) at ballet which meant she's had dress often enough in Fairy in the Woods and Christmas tree so as to make her fit in perfectly well in a Mireille & Mathieu- production...  At this moment she is using her new found talent as a manager for theatre CC De Schakel in Waregem.