By William Shakespeare Toneelgroep Amsterdam Directed by Ivo van Hove
Three kings. Three impeccably pressed suits. In director Ivo van Hove’s (Antigone, 2015 Next Wave; Angels in America, 2014 Next Wave) clever merging of the plays Henry V, Henry VI Parts I, II & III, and Richard III, three Bardian power players enter the fluorescent-lit corridors of the present. On a set divided between modern war chamber and its antiseptic back rooms, autocrats debate national security over Scotch while handheld cameras pry into their drug-fueled binges behind the scenes. Soliloquies turn into media spectacles as Van Hove offers this nuanced character study of Shakespeare’s volatile kings, each tasked with making big decisions with egos, and lives, at stake.
PROGRAM NOTES
Translation by Rob Klinkenberg Adaptation by Bart van den Eynde and Peter van Kraaij Dramaturgy by Peter van Kraaij Design and lighting by Jan Versweyveld Music by Eric Sleichim Costumes by An D’Huys Video by Tal Yarden
Co-commissioned by Barbican London, Théâtre National de Chaillot, and Wiener Festwochen Co-produced with BL!NDMAN, Holland Festival, Muziektheater Transparant, Rabobank Amsterdam, and Harry and Marijke van den Bergh
“...textured and full of life...it highlights the way in which the misuse of power leads to greater abuses, and how often our leaders’ self-importance and desire for legacy can undo both them and us.”
“Van Hove’s compression of the histories is a timely reminder that across the centuries, Shakespeare’s knowledge of the human heart remains unwithered by age, unstaled by familiarity.”
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