In 2008, Ivo van Hove directed a radical production of Angels in America, which Tony Kushner himself hailed as his favorite version. Hans Kesting received the Louis d'Or for his portrayal of Roy Cohn in this production. Now, we are bringing the performance back, featuring several actors from the original cast, complemented by new ensemble members. Presented within a minimalist stage design and accompanied solely by David Bowie’s songs, this adaptation of Angels in America is a tribute to the human ability to adapt, change, and survive. It is a true (re)discovery of a modern classic, but above all, it remains an incredibly relevant story to this day.

America during the Reagan years. The AIDS epidemic is spreading rapidly but is met with silence from the conservative government. Two New Yorkers grapple with the news of their diagnosis in very different ways: ex-drag queen Prior and the arch-conservative lawyer Roy Cohn, who forces those around him to lie about the nature of his illness.

In the first part, Millennium Approaches, all the characters are torn away from their roots and certainties: family, partners, religion, and political ideologies no longer provide solace in the face of pervasive disease and death. In the second part, Perestroika, tentative new friendships and relationships emerge as the characters confront the painful process of change.


In a whirlwind of tragicomic scenes and entanglements, Tony Kushner demonstrates that identity cannot be reduced to religion, race, or sexuality. Instead, it is a continuous process that can only take shape through interactions with others.

Angels in America is a gripping, hilarious, and heartbreaking story about the transformative power of love, the inevitability of change, resilience in times of crisis, and a tribute to imagination—not merely as an escape from an unlivable reality, but also as a source of understanding.

Lucas Rijneveld received the prestigious International Booker Prize for the English edition of his debut De avond is ongemak. The translation rights of his widely acclaimed second novel Mijn lieve gunsteling have so far been sold to fourteen countries. Ivo van Hove is the first director to adapt this heartbreaking and at the same time terrifying novel for the stage.
A novel that the author himself thought no one would ever want to read, but which became a bestseller in a short time. A 49-year-old vet develops a forbidden love for a farmer's underage daughter during a sweltering summer.

A love that quickly becomes an obsession. A story with moving but also intense scenes in which the adult man and the 14-year-old girl grow closer and closer until the border is crossed.

« The scene is memory ». It is populated with a trio of faces: a mother, Amanda and her two children Laura and Tom. Amanda still pictures herself as a great southern lady. Tom provides for his family and rushes to the cinema whenever he gets the chance. Laura spends hours with her spun glass animals… Three solitudes almost behind closed doors, three frailties, three ways to dream of a different life. The plot is simple, elusive like a memory. After Arthur Miller’s A view from the bridge (2015-2016 grand prix of the Syndicat de la critique), Ivo van Hove returns to the Odéon with this founding masterpiece and offers Isabelle Huppert one of the mythical roles of the American repertoire.

The hidden force is an enthralling story about the misunderstandings and incomprehension between cultures, as well as between close relatives. The downfall of Otto van Oudijck makes us painfully aware of the impossibility to fully understand others.

Jude Law plays the magnetically handsome, down-at-heel Gino in a new stage adaptation of Visconti’s penetrating social drama directed by Ivo van Hove.Drifter Gino, powerful and graceful as a puma, encounters Giuseppe and his much younger, trapped wife Hanna (played by Halina Reijn) at their roadside restaurant and petrol station. He and Hanna are so irresistibly attracted to one another they begin an affair while plotting to murder her husband. But the crime does not unite them in this chilling story where passion can lead only to destruction.

Visconti’s first feature film Obsession (1943) gave rise to Italian neorealism, a cinematic movement highlighting the struggles of ordinary people in a time of upheaval. As Van Hove’s fourth Visconti production, it features a company of Dutch and British actors led by Law, whose charismatic stage and screen performances have established him as one of the foremost actors of his generation.

Obsession is one of three Toneelgroep Amsterdam productions directed here by Ivo van Hove in 2017. See After the Rehearsal/ Persona in September.



Please note that this performance contains nudity, scenes of a sexual nature, and loud gun shots. Smoking will also take place on stage.

Please be aware that the performance on Thursday 11 May will now start at 7pm and audiences must be seated no later than 6.45pm. This is due to the NT live streaming at this performance.


Approximately 1 hour 50 mins/no interval

Age guidance 16+ (contains adult themes)

Performed in English

"I drank three glasses of scotch and ginger ale before we’d even cleared Coney Island. I didn’t want to come home. It was then that I decided to write you these letters."

On a crisp winter day in New York, Willem gets the call. It’s Mum. Pauli’s died. Come back to Amsterdam.

An unforgettable homecoming to an estranged family, a lost love, unsettling sex and an unexamined life.

A LITTLE LIFE follows four college friends in New York City: aspiring actor Willem, successful architect Malcolm, struggling artist JB, and prodigious lawyer Jude. As ambition, addiction, and pride threaten to pull the group apart, they always find themselves bound by their love for Jude and the mysteries of his past. But when those secrets come to light, they finally learn that to know Jude St Francis is to understand the limitless potential of love in the face of life.

Margo Channing. Legend. True star of the theatre. The spotlight is hers, always has been.

But now there’s Eve. Her biggest fan. Young, beautiful Eve. The golden girl, the girl next door. But you know all about Eve… don’t you…?

Drawing on 30 years of marriage to five spouses, Ingmar Bergman acknowledged a strong connection to the lead characters of his masterful 1973 film. Johan and Marianne seem the perfect couple. Yet the illusion is soon shattered during this blisteringly perceptive study of a relationship breaking down.

Illuminating Bergman’s world, Ivo van Hove’s theatrical adaptation invites audiences to intimate onstage spaces in which three sets of actors portray Johan and Marianne at different ages. Simultaneous performances converge, bringing their universal battle for love, identity and understanding to a surprising conclusion.

Van Hove’s inventive transfers of cinematic works to the stage, including Antonioni Project, have immersed European audiences.

'As good as theatre gets; combining astonishingly inventive stagecraft with glorious acting’ Guardian on Roman Tragedies at the Barbican (2009)

3 hours 20 mins / including a 25-min interval

Who Killed My Father, the third book by the French literary talent Édouard Louis, is both a indictment of ruthless capitalism and a loving tribute to his father.

The 26-year old author wrote this book as a letter in the second person. It was prompted by being confronted with his father, who he found almost unrecognisable: prematurely old and sick as a result of a life marked by hard labour, social deprivation, alcohol and an accident at work that condemned him for good to a purposeless life at home.

Ivo van Hove: 'A gripping story about a father who, at the age of fifty, is a physical and mental wreck because of the hard work in the industrial world of northern France. It is both a furious indictment of the political elite and a son's declaration of love. Édouard Louis also writes about how, as a young gay man, he was condemned as an outcast by his own workers' family.'

Édouard Louis points the finger at ruthless capitalism and the political elite that makes the lower classes bear the brunt. With this wonderful material, director Ivo van Hove forges a monologue for leading actor Hans Kesting.

A great terrace in the Palace of Herod, set above the banqueting hall. Some soldiers are leaning over the balcony. To the right there is a gigantic staircase, to the left, at the back, an old cistern surrounded by a wall of green bronze. The moon is shining very brightly.
Narraboth gazes from a terrace in Herod's palace into the banquet hall at the beautiful Princess Salome; he is in love with her, and apotheosizes her, much to the disgusted fearfulness of the Page of Herodias. The voice of the Prophet Jochanaan is heard from his prison in the palace cistern; Herod fears him and has ordered that no one should contact him, including Jerusalem's High Priest.
Tired of the feast and its guests, Salome flees to the terrace. When she hears Jochanaan cursing her mother (Herodias), Salome's curiosity is piqued. The palace guards will not honor her petulant orders to fetch Jochanaan for her, so she teasingly works on Narraboth to bring Jochanaan before her. Despite the orders he has received from Herod, Narraboth finally gives in after she promises to smile at him.
Jochanaan emerges from the cistern and shouts prophecies regarding Herod and Herodias that no one understands, except Salome when the Prophet refers to her mother. Upon seeing Jochanaan, Salome is filled with an overwhelming desire for him, praising his white skin and asking to touch it, but he rejects her. She then praises his black hair, again asking to touch it, but is rejected once more. She finally begs for a kiss from Jochanaan's lips, and Narraboth, who cannot bear to hear this, kills himself. As Jochanaan is returned to the well, he preaches salvation through the Messiah.
Herod enters, followed by his wife and court. He slips in Narraboth's blood and starts hallucinating. He hears the beating of wings. Despite Herodias' objections, Herod stares lustfully at Salome, who rejects him. Jochanaan harasses Herodias from the well, calling her incestuous marriage to Herod sinful. She demands that Herod silence him. Herod refuses, and she mocks his fear. Five Jews argue concerning the nature of God. Two Nazarenes tell of Christ's miracles; at one point they bring up the raising of Jairus' daughter from the dead, which Herod finds frightening.
Herod asks for Salome to eat with him, drink with him; indolently, she twice refuses, saying she is not hungry or thirsty. Herod then begs Salome to dance for him, Tanz für mich, Salome, though her mother objects. He promises to reward her with her heart's desire – even if it were one half of his kingdom.
After Salome inquires into his promise, and he swears to honor it, she prepares for the "Dance of the Seven Veils". This dance, very oriental in orchestration, has her slowly removing her seven veils, until she lies naked at his feet. Salome then demands the head of the prophet on a silver platter. Her mother cackles in pleasure. Herod tries to dissuade her with offers of jewels, peacocks, and the sacred veil of the Temple. Salome remains firm in her demand for Jochanaan's head, forcing Herod to accede to her demands. After a desperate monologue by Salome, an executioner emerges from the well and delivers the severed head as she requested.
Salome now declares her love for the severed head, caressing it and kissing the prophet's dead lips passionately. Horrified, Herod orders his soldiers, "Kill that woman!" They rush forward and crush Salome under their shields.

西区是纽约的贫民窟集中地。那里有两个少年流氓集团。一个叫“火箭”，由白人组成，头目是里弗，一个叫“鲨鱼”，由波多黎各人，头头是贝尔纳尔多。两帮势不两立。经常挑衅格斗，酿成流血事件。
　　一天夜里，西区举行了一场规模颇大的舞会。两个团伙之间展开了一场独特的“竞赛”，在众人的呼喊声中，里弗的好友托尼和贝尔纳尔多的妹妹玛丽亚相遇。两人一见钟情，就象在梦中似的一起跳着舞。贝尔纳尔多发现了他们，他暴跳如雷地扑过来，强行让手下带走了玛丽亚。
　　回到了家的玛丽亚正准备上床，忽然听见有人在呼唤她。她走近窗口，又见到了托尼。第二天，玛丽亚听说“鲨鱼”将和“火箭”决斗，便希望托尼去阻止他们。托尼答应了她。
　　晚上，“鲨鱼”和“火箭”在街头相遇。两伙人正准备动手，托尼匆匆赶到，他试图阻止他们之间的斗殴，但贝尔纳尔多却不理睬，还一拳把托尼打倒在地。里弗见状，便动了手。当里弗用刀逼住了贝尔纳尔多时，托尼要里弗停手。里弗稍一犹豫，但贝尔纳尔多的刀先捅进了里弗的胸膛。托尼奔过去抱住了里弗。贝尔纳尔多又持刀向他刺来，托尼眼明手快，拿起里弗的刀刺进了贝尔纳尔多的胸口。
　　玛丽亚对此十分伤心。贝尔纳尔多的女朋友用最污秽的话骂她，责备她，但她始终忘不了托尼。托尼不知从哪儿获悉玛丽亚忧思而想轻生，便陷入绝望。贝尔纳尔多生前曾希望妹妹嫁给他的好友奇诺。可奇诺看到玛丽亚钟爱的竟是杀兄的仇敌，一时狂怒之下，身藏手枪去找托尼算帐。玛丽亚得知之后迅速赶到托尼处报信，但就在这一刹那间，奇诺的枪响了，无情的子弹夺去了托尼的生命。玛丽亚悲痛欲绝……

After The hidden force, Ivo van Hove made a second adaptation of a novel by Couperus: The things that pass, this time a coproduction with Toneelhuis (Antwerp).

Directing The hidden force, Ivo van Hove got rid of the image that had been stuck to Couperus since the 1970s. Not a costume drama in The Hague, no tempo dulu (the good old days). But he did get straight to the core of this visionary novel: the culture of the west, irreconcilable with that of the east.



The second project is based on the majestic psychological novel Old people and the things that pass (1906). Couperus imagined an ‘appalling and dreadful tragedy’. We see how a hushed-up murder of passion in the Dutch East Indies continues to have a devastating influence on the family of the elderly Ottilie and Takma. The hushing up of their adulterous relationship and the murder of Ottilie’s husband leave deep traces in the consecutive generations, who are trapped in an unresolved past.

Lot and Elly are the youngest members of this doomed family. They hope to be able to free themselves from the stranglehold of The Hague, but arrive back home disillusioned after their honeymoon in Italy. There is no escaping this family that is damaged by horrible secrets that should never become known.

Just like in The hidden force, Couperus shows that he is far ahead of his time. He paints the portrait of a modern family that does not cohere and is literally spread out to all the corners of the world. The family members struggle with their lustfulness, their faith, dreams of material happiness and mutual jealousy. A family where almost nobody dares to give in to their deepest wishes and desires, to be who they really are.

根据安·兰德的世纪之书《源泉》改编。时长240分钟，中场休息20分钟。

底比斯王俄狄浦斯得知自己拭父娶母，罪孽深重，因此去位，并客死他乡，留下二子二女。二子为争夺王位，刀兵相见。一子波吕涅刻斯率岳父城邦的军队攻打底比斯，另一子厄特俄科勒斯率底比斯军抵抗，两人都战死沙场。克瑞翁，俄狄浦斯王之母/妻的弟弟，继任底比斯城邦的王位。为惩罚叛徒，克瑞翁下令(一个实在法)不许安葬波吕涅刻斯，违者处死。俄狄浦斯之女安提戈涅挑战克瑞翁的政令，认为哥哥即使是叛徒，也应当得到安葬，因为人死了入土为安是天神制定的永恒不变的不成文法。克瑞翁判安提戈涅死刑—将安氏关进墓室，让其自然死亡。安提戈涅的未婚夫、克瑞翁之子海蒙为了爱情而自杀，并导致其母即克瑞翁的妻子自杀。克瑞翁陷于极度的痛苦。（© 苏力）

1692年的春天，北美马萨诸塞州的萨勒姆小镇。正值豆蔻年华的青春少女们，相约在生机盎然、充满灵性的森林袒祈愿跳舞、尽情嬉戏，甚至赤身裸体，在黑奴蒂图巴的巫毒术下，她们说出心仪的男孩的姓名，许愿能和他们一起跳舞。艾比盖尔爱上了他曾经的雇主普罗克托，并和他发生了关系，但却被普罗克托的妻子伊丽莎白发现并解雇了。艾比盖尔在被同伴们嘲笑，她不顾蒂图巴的劝阻，杀鸡饮血诅咒伊丽莎白。而这时牧师帕里斯循声来到森林中，认为有人在搞巫术，但却不知道具体是谁。惊恐中，帕里斯的女儿贝蒂病了，同样的还有帕特曼家的女儿，村民们认为这是巫术而陷入恐慌中，只有普罗克托一直在反对。
　　帕里斯询问了艾比盖尔整件事的经过，但艾比盖尔拒绝说出真相，也不承认她们在搞巫术。为了保住牧师职位，帕里斯请来贝弗利的黑尔牧师帮助肃清女巫。黑尔审问了女孩子们，艾比盖尔为了自保，谎称自己被巫术控制，而将矛头直指黑人蒂图巴。蒂图巴在严刑拷打之下，为了自己的性命，编造了并不存在的魔鬼和白人信徒们，女孩子们也借此机会，纷纷指证村里的村民们。
　　大城市的法官们来到了萨勒姆审问巫师事件，而被艾比盖尔为首的姑娘们指控为女巫的人越来越多，许多无辜的村民被卷进了这荒诞愚昧的黑色漩涡。萨勒姆镇人人自危，血雨腥风。
　　而在此期间，艾比盖尔多次向普罗克托求爱，但屡遭拒绝，虔诚的上帝信徒普罗克托为了自己的外遇而倍感后悔。出于嫉妒，艾比盖尔制作了诅咒人偶，在人偶的肚子上插上针，让女仆玛丽送到了伊丽莎白手中，并且自己也用锐器向自己的腹部刺去，就这样，伊丽莎白也因为巫术而被捕。
　　故事发展到此可以说才刚刚起步，前两场不但是为后来的高潮做铺垫，也在考验观众的耐性，因为矛盾冲突才刚刚展开，人性的丑恶和扭曲才刚刚显露。
　　接下来的几场，舞台成了一个考验人性的实验场，人们为了报复泄愤，为了使自己开脱，为了明知自己错了却害怕惩罚而不能回头。谎言主宰了一切，谎言葬送了无辜的生命。
　　普罗克托为拯救妻子的性命，说服了家中女仆玛丽，来到法庭，希望戳穿艾比盖尔的谎言。艾比盖尔再次故伎重演，大喊自己看到了玛丽和魔鬼在一起，在法官的威逼和艾比盖尔等人强大的压力下，玛丽倍感恐惧，无法说出真相，情急之下，普罗克托说出了他和艾比盖尔的奸情来证明自己话语的真实性。但是，在重重压力下，玛丽还是屈服了，指控了普罗克托，而为了结束这场闹剧的普罗克托也大喊出了“我说，上帝已经死了！”
　　法官把普罗克托的妻子伊丽莎白带上法庭，让普罗克托和艾比盖尔背对着她。法官问及伊丽莎白为何赶走艾比盖尔，伊丽莎白只说发现他们关系暧昧，当法官再一次追问普罗克托是否犯有奸淫罪时，沉默良久，从不会说谎的伊丽莎白说出了：没有。
　　因为普罗克托的入狱而倍感后悔的艾比盖尔卷走了帕里斯所有的钱，试图劝服普罗克托和她一起逃走。但是普罗克托没有来，艾比盖尔独自一人逃跑了。
　　艾比盖尔卷款逃跑使得帕里斯失去了所有。而这时法官诱逼普罗克托在忏悔书上签字。而普罗克托却知道了伊丽莎白怀孕的消息。在良心和谎言、生与死之间，普罗克托终于撕毁了忏悔书，选择了良心，选择了绞刑架。在被绞死前，普罗克托和几个和他一样的坚守信仰的人大声朗诵了《圣经》，并且从容赴死，这是全剧的最高潮。
　　骇人听闻的故事情节赋予了对人性弱点的关注和对生命意义的拷问，足以让所有观众动容。在这场闹剧中，人性中固有的自私、软弱、卑劣、凶顽与良知的冲撞，无时不在心中激荡。如果说有哪部戏可以等待，有哪部戏可以重看，《萨勒姆的女巫》就是。

The main character in the story is Eddie Carbone, an Italian American longshoreman, who lives with his wife, Beatrice and his orphaned niece, Catherine. As the play begins, Eddie is protective and kind toward Catherine, although his feelings grow into something more than avuncular as the play develops. His attachment to her is brought into perspective by the arrival from Italy of Beatrice's two cousins, Marco and Rodolpho. They have entered the country illegally, hoping to leave behind hunger and unemployment for a better life in America. Marco is an exceptionally strong man, said by Eddie's friends to be 'a regular bull.' He also has a starving family in Italy (a wife, and 3 sons, one with tuberculosis). Rodolpho is in his late 20's, fair skinned, blond, and unattached. He is unconventional in that he sings (notably 'paper doll'), dances, is good at sewing and dress making and is also a good cook. Catherine soon begins a relationship with Rodolpho.
After three weeks, the pair have been seeing each other, and Eddie sets about pointing out all of Rodolpho's flaws to Catherine and Beatrice. He persistently complains that Rodolpho is "not right," referring to Rodolpho's effeminate qualities, such as sewing, cooking and singing. He is embarrassed by Rodolpho's reputation for singing during work.
When Catherine decides to marry Rodolpho, Eddie becomes desperate and begs his lawyer, Alfieri (who is also the narrator), to help him. However, he is told that the only way the law is able to help him is if he informs the Immigration Bureau of the presence of the two illegal immigrants. Due to his earlier assertion that "it's an honor" to give the men refuge, he refuses to betray them. At home he continues to passively insult Rodolpho, and ends up offering to teach Rodolpho to box, however Eddie uses this opportunity to hit Rodolpho. In retaliation, Marco challenges Eddie to lift a chair from the bottom of its leg, when Eddie fails to do this, Marco picks up the chair with one hand from the bottom of its leg and lifts it above his head. This demonstrates Marco's superior strength and that he will always be watching over Rodolpho, should Eddie harm him.
In the second Act, Eddie catches Rodolpho leaving the bedroom with Catherine. He then sees Alfieri a second time. Eddie ignores his lawyer's advice to let events run their course, and calls the Immigration Bureau. This betrayal proves disastrous: he comes back to learn that Catherine and Rodolpho are engaged, and Beatrice informs him two more illegal immigrants have moved into the upstairs apartment. Suddenly, the Immigration Officers arrive and shortly arrest the four immigrants. As the detainees are being taken from the tenement, Marco breaks free from the group, "dashes into the room" and spits in Eddie's face. This happens inside Eddie's house – however Eddie's rage is such that he follows Marco out into the street. He berates Marco for the insult, failing to notice that the gathering crowd are growing as one to conclude that Eddie is the traitor. This suspicion is confirmed as Marco singles Eddie out as the one who "killed my children."
Rodolpho is allowed to stay in the country due to his marriage, but Marco faces imminent deportation. Reluctantly, he promises Alfieri not to take revenge on Eddie (as is the Sicilian custom) and is let out on bail. In the final scene of the play, Eddie is shown to be furious with his humiliation and refuses to attend the wedding. He rejects Rodolpho's offer to reconcile and refuses to get out of the house when he learns Marco is arriving.
The play ends with a fight between Eddie and Marco, in a street filled with his friends and family. Eddie brandishes a knife and attacks Marco, who turns the blade onto Eddie, killing him. It is not known whether Marco actually intended to stab Eddie, and his reaction is not described. Eddie dies as the curtain falls, calling out to Beatrice.

Three rulers in times of crisis, each faced with the life-or-death choice of whether to go to war. Their decision-making is laid bare, exposing the conflict between national concerns and self-interest.

Shakespeare's Henry V, Henry VI and Richard III become modern-day political leaders, all their fates unfolding in this single, radical adaptation. Pulling us behind the scenes into labyrinthine war rooms, the explosive play strikes a chord with global events we see on the news everyday.

Olivier Award-winning Ivo van Hove follows his most recent hits, Antigone and A View from the Bridge, by directing a work of the same impact as his ground-breaking Roman Tragedies, seen here in 2009.

Ivo van Hove’s epic is ‘one of the most audacious Shakespeare productions of the modern era’ (Time Out), and immerses you in the midst of the multimedia action.

Set in a conference centre with multiple screens relaying non-stop media coverage, tautly edited versions of Coriolanus, Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra unfold to form one flowing performance. Power, passion, ambition and national interests – this is the political game revealed in all its facets – with video close-ups amplifying the onstage drama.

Roman Tragedies turns audience members into citizens, inviting them to move freely around the auditorium, have refreshments, view the protagonists from different perspectives and live tweet about the experience. First seen at the Barbican in 2009, the six-hour show combines brilliant ensemble acting, running from the cerebral to the raw, with astonishing stagecraft and an electric sense of immediacy.

Roman Tragedies is one of three Toneelgroep Amsterdam productions directed here by Ivo van Hove in 2017. See Obsession in April and After the Rehearsal/Persona in September

In this worldwide bestseller, we watch four men over a period of more than thirty years: lawyer Jude, actor Willem, visual artist JB and architect Malcolm. The story is the history of their friendship, as they remain closely connected with each other during the rest of their lives. They develop their careers in the city where ambition and success are the indicators of a successful life: New York.

The main character is the introverted Jude. His past is wrapped in a veil of mystery. Behind the façade of professional success, he lives with unresolved grief as a result of emotional neglect and sexual abuse during his childhood. It has left him with extreme distrust and a feeling of worthlessness. He finds release in compulsive automutilation, causing his body to become more and more exhausted.

How do you live with trauma and pain? Jude has no family, his friends are everything to him. Nevertheless, he finds it impossible to share his past with them. The closer someone gets, the more difficult it is for him to talk about it. For Jude, openness and surrender are equal to abuse. In a constellation like that, intimacy becomes an impossible task. Can friendship provide compensation for the incurred damage? Is it possible to have a romantic relationship without sex? What is love actually able to do?

Jude’s friends are facing a dilemma. How can you help someone who doesn’t want to be helped, while realizing you’re not a real friend if you don’t try to help?