Season 2022-2023
Season 2022-2023 with Lehman Trilogy, Wende’s London production The Promise, Jungle Book Reimagined by Akram Khan and Penthesilea by Eline Arbo at ITA
In the new theatre season Internationaal Theater Amsterdam presents five premiers by the ITA-ensemble: Lehman Trilogy (directed by Guy Cassiers), My Heavenly Favourite (directed by Ivo van Hove), Blood Wedding (directed by Wim Vandekeybus), Birds of a Kind (directed by Alize Zandwijk) and Penthesilea (directed by Eline Arbo).
ITA also welcomes dance and theatre performances from all over the world, like Wende with The Promise (The Song Project) which she created at the Royal Court in London and Jungle Book Reimagined by Akram Khan. Both productions can be seen this fall, in coproduction with ITA.
ITA will be continuing livestreaming through ITALive. In December 2022 ITA will be streaming Age of Rage (directed by Ivo van Hove) and in January 2023 The Year of Cancer (directed by Luk Perceval) is planned. Other titles for ITALive will be announced later.
Ivo van Hove: ‘We are offering a versatile season with performances that are a sign of our times, in a permanent search for today’s stories and modern day directors and theatre makers.’
ITA-ensemble
We present five premieres of the ITA-ensemble in the new season. In Lehman Trilogy
(directed by Guy Cassiers) we follow three brothers; the play is not only the story of a family but also the history of ruthless emerging capitalism. Guy Cassiers: ‘It is a family tragedy, but above all a fable about how capitalism has become a guiding factor in our daily existence. That's why it's so relevant.’
My Heavenly Favourite (directed by Ivo van Hove), based on the bestseller by Marieke Lucas Rijneveld, tells the story of a 49-year-old veterinarian (portrayed by Hans Kesting) who, during a sweltering summer, develops a forbidden love for the underage daughter of a farmer (portrayed by Eefje Paddenburg). A love that quickly becomes an obsession.
In Blood Wedding by Federico Garcia Lorca (directed by Wim Vandekeybus), an arranged marriage ends fatally when the bride's former lover shows up. In Birds of a Kind (directed by Alize Zandwijk), the Jewish Eitan and the Arab Wahida fall in love instantly when they meet by chance in the library of New York. In Penthesilea (directed by Eline Arbo) Amazon Queen Penthesilea (portrayed by Ilke Paddenburg) falls for her greatest enemy: the Greek army commander Achilles (portrayed by Jesse Mensah).
-|- Previous successes of the ITA-ensemble that can be seen again in 2022-2023 include The Magic Mountain, Age of Rage, Client E. Busken, The Hours, Judas, The Year of Cancer and Kings of War.
Wende – The Promise (The Song Project)
The Promise is a modern song cycle about identity, origin and all shades of grey of womanhood in our time. After inspiring collaborations in the Netherlands with, among others, Joost Zwagerman and Marieke Lucas Rijneveld, Wende collaborated with five female writers affiliated with the Royal Court in London, including Stef Smith and Sabrina Mahfouz.
Wende: ‘This performance is a promise to myself. To be allowed to be who I am and to discover which roles I fulfil. What do femininity and motherhood look like? I have searched for this through the eyes of 5 crazy writers and The Promise is a performance that takes you along in the different directions and perspectives.’
The Guardian: ‘Dutch singer Wende performs with magnetism and a talent for storytelling. A concert with an always brilliant band and bewitching lead singer.’
Akram Khan – Jungle Book Reimagined
In Akram Khan's new dance theater production, based on the beloved family classic, Khan and his team reinvent Mowgli's journey through the eyes of a climate refugee. In the near future, a family is torn apart as they escape their homeland devastated by the effects of climate change. Arriving alone in a deserted modern city, and with wild animals claiming the streets as their property, the child soon discovers unlikely allies in this strange new jungle. Akram Khan: ‘I want to dive into the myths of today, and children stories of tomorrow.’