Isabelle McEwen was born in Montréal, Canada, in 1954.
After studying media studies at Concordia University, she went to Hamburg, where she studied musical theater directing at the Theaterakademie. She then worked for two years as assistant director to Jérôme Savary.
In 1988, she founded the New Opera Box, an independent group dedicated to contemporary music theater. Until 1993, several performances were staged, including two German premieres.
In the 1990s, she turned to experimental formats and working methods. She made her first performance projects, for example with the visual artist and architect Leonard Dax.
In 2005, she created the multimedia performance "HURE" based on the novel by Nelly Arcan. The short film of the same name, which she shot as part of the performance, was shown at festivals around the world and won a first prize. Two further short films were made from the material of the performance.
She completed her doctorate in media culture at the University of Hamburg in 2011. Since then, she has worked there as a lecturer.
In 2016, she staged "Bloody Niggers!", a play by Dorcy Rugamba that tells the story of colonialism in a radical way. The group of Europeans and Africans involved in the production joined forces to form the company Follown & McEwen. Several performances were created.
"Bloody Niggers!" also marked the beginning of a fruitful collaboration with drummer Dirk Achim Dhonau. Among other things, she worked with him on a trilogy, the first two parts of which, "Tatort Kunst" and "Tatort Demokratie", premiered in 2019. The second piece was performed as part of the events celebrating the 100th anniversary of the University of Hamburg. The last part of the trilogy, "After the Plague", was created during the pandemic and was performed in October 2021.
List of productions (selection):
"Nach der Pest", Hamburger Sprechwerk 2021
"Tatort Demokratie", Universität Hamburg, 2019
"Tatort Kunst", Hamburger Sprechwerk, 2019
"Bloody Niggers" by Dorcy Rugamba, Hamburger Sprechwerk 2015
"Van Goghs Schmetterling", Lichthof Theater, 2013
"HURE" after N. Arcan, Hamburger Sprechwerk, 2005
"Ubu", by Andrew Toovey, Opera stabile, 1993
"Die Zauberflöte" by W.A. Mozart, Mitteldeutsches Landestheater Wittenberg, 1991
"Greek" by M.A. Turnage, Kampnagelfabrik, 1989
"Trois contes de l'honorable fleur" by M. Ohana, Opera Stabile, 1988
