Philippe Boulay

Mentor of Theatre

Philippe Boulay trained with Mario Gonzalez, Anatoly Vassiliev, Andreï Serban, and Yannis Kokkos at the Experimental Academy of Theatres in Paris. Artistic director of Wor(l)ds…Cie, he has directed numerous productions in France and internationally, working across Europe, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East.

His work combines classical and contemporary repertoires, staging plays by authors such as Molière, Shakespeare, Chekhov, Copi, Suzan-Lori Parks, Yukio Mishima, and Bernard-Marie Koltès. Alongside his directing career, Boulay has been deeply involved in pedagogy, teaching in major theatre institutions including the Helsinki Theatre Academy, the National Theatre School of Bretagne, the National Theatre of Bordeaux Aquitaine, and the Lincoln Center for Performing Arts in New York.

In the Premières II program, Philippe Boulay mentors the theatre directors through regular bi-weekly online sessions. During these meetings, the directors share rehearsal progress, dramaturgical questions, and staging challenges. Boulay is also scheduled to spend several weeks in Cairo during the final rehearsal period to work directly with the teams before the performances.