age of rage
'Ancient Greek tragedy explodes into our times.' - The Guardian ★★★★★
In Age of Rage, Ivo van Hove tells a primordial story of how revenge haunts and wrecks successive generations. This performance is in line with earlier large-scale social productions such as Roman tragedies and Kings of war. This time the history of the Trojan War and the royal Atrid family is the starting point. Ifigeneia in Aulis, Trojan Women, Hekabe, Agamemnon, Elektra and Orestes are edited into one story. Age of Rage shows the mechanisms, inevitability and hopelessness of a circle of violence.
Run time 210 minutes, incl. intermission
Language Dutch
Genre Theatre
The performance includes loud passages and strobe effects
IVO VAN HOVE ON AGE OF RAGE
'It is the story of years of war and how its consequences as an ineradicable cancer have a profound and long-lasting effect on families and society. But also a story about violence today and about radicalization. We see how, faced with major problems, leaders turn to murder and revenge rather than deliberation. A royal family that runs the country but never comes to a vision or approach for a better future. A dark, grand and universal story.'
REVIEWS
The Guardian
'Clytemnestra and Helena are both played by Nietvelt in a sensational double performance, while Goslinga is every bit as riveting. The show makes immense demands on its performers who deliver with unfaltering energy.'
The Telegraph
'This timeless, blood-and-thunder tragedy is a marvel to watch.'
The Stage
'Four hours fly by.'
Financial Times
'The show has an epic, elemental quality, with Jan Versweyveld’s starkly expressive design, Wim Vandekeybus’s restless choreography and van Hove’s searing stage images. But it’s the moments of intimacy and grief that make it strike home, from the innocent glee with which Paddenburg’s Iphigenia greets her father Agamemnon to the raw agony of Hecuba (Janni Goslinga) faced with the corpse of her son and the quiet descent of Astyanax’s slowly falling body. Grimly good.'
PROGRAM BROCHURE
Read more about the production's direction, choreography, scenography and music in our digital brochure.
BEHIND THE SCENES
Go backstage at the rehearsal process of Age of Rage and find out how the show is made.
Ivo van Hove was Artistic Director of Internationaal Theater Amsterdam from 2001 to 2023. As stage director, he signed on for numerous ground-breaking and highly acclaimed productions such as The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand) and A Little Life (Hanya Yanagihara), as well as the two Shakespeare marathons Roman Tragedies and Kings of War, with which the ensemble toured around the world. After twenty-two years, Van Hove decided to leave ITA and concentrate on his international directing work. He will also head the Ruhrtriennale as Artistic Director from 2024 to 2026.
In the 24/25 season, his production of Angels in America (Tony Kushner) will be revived.
CREDITS
after Euripides en Aischylos
direction Ivo van Hove
translation Gerard Koolschijn
adaptation Koen Tachelet, Ivo van Hove
dramaturgy Koen Tachelet
choreography Wim Vandekeybus
scenography & light design Jan Versweyveld
costume design An D’Huys
composition Eric Sleichim
cast Achraf Koutet, Aus Greidanus jr., Chris Nietvelt, Gijs Scholten van Aschat, Hans Kesting, Hélène Devos, Ilke Paddenburg, Janni Goslinga, Jesse Mensah, Maarten Heijmans, Majd Mardo and Maria Kraakman
dancers Bai Li Wiegmans, Katharina Ludwig, Emma Hanekroot and Flory Curescu
music BL!NDMAN [drums] Hannes Nieuwlaet, Yves Goemaere, Ward Deketelaere, Gideon van Canneyt
coproducer Holland Festival; Bl!ndman; La Villette, Paris; the Barbican, London
private producer Helga Lasschuijt and Dirk Raes, Gabriella de Rooij and Hendrik Jan ten Have, Marius de Vos and Gary Carter, Anna Wouters and Esther Kwaks
this performance is sponsored by Ammodo
-|-
assistant director Daniël 't Hoen, Rosemintje Verpaalen-Weijts, Konstantinos Vasilakopoulos (intern), Lisaboa Houbregts (intern)
assistant dramaturgy Simone van der Steen (intern)
assistant scenography Bart van Merode, Django Walon, Renée Faveere (intern)
assistant video Coen Bouman, Arjen Klerkx
assistant music George Dhauw
assistant choreography Laura Aris Álvarez, Rob Hayden
assistant costume design Rosa Schützendorf
head of technical department Reyer Meeter
head artistic bureau Loesje Riethof
head of production Michiel van Schijndel
production Kiki Meijerhoven, Inge Zeilinga
assistant production Eva Sol
technical department Sebastiaan Kruijs (stage manager), Kevin Cuyvers, Pepijn van Beek, Zinzi Kemper, Tim Senden, Dennis van Scheppingen, Wouter Pieters, Rinse de Jong, Pieter Roodbeen, Emile Bleeker, Jip Van ‘t Veer, Renee Faveere
costume department Wim van Vliet (head), Farida Bouhbouh
hair and make-up David Verswijveren, Mirjam Venema
tailor Leanne Vandenbussche, Carlijn Veurink
set construction Fiction Factory
photography Jan Versweyveld, Fabian Calis
graphical design Serena Kloet, Sara Fortuin
publicity Julia Rachman
