Leentje Van de Cruys is a Belgian artist, theatre maker, performer and writer. She is one of Quarantine’s regular collaborators and has been working with the company in various roles since 2013.
Leentje graduated as Master in Podiumkunsten (Stage Arts) at the LUCA School of Arts in Leuven (Belgium). In 2006 she moved to the UK where she worked extensively for over 15 years as a theatre-maker, performer and director with UK and Belgian companies including Quarantine, Reckless Sleepers and Prototype Theatre, as well as making a series of solo shows (Horse, Best Party Ever, Knitting to Worry About, Belgian Waffling) exploring domesticity, motherhood, homesickness and belonging. She also taught on Contemporary Performance courses at a number of higher education institutions including Lancaster, Manchester Metropolitan and Salford universities.
Since 2022 Leentje has been based based in Mechelen (Belgium), where she continues to make and perform, including as a regular collaborator with Quarantine, currently touring internationally with 12 Last Songs and Telescope. In her wider artistic practice she is exploring ideas around living and dying, talking and listening, writing letters and making lists. She also creates and delivers end-of-life ceremonies and organises public gatherings and conversations discussing death, loss and grief under the name ‘StilLliving’. In all her work, Leentje is interested in listening as a creative practice and live portraiture as a form of performance/live performance as a form of portraiture.