Bros
Where and why does violence arise? With its stunning images and sound, Romeo Castellucci’s Bros shows how the most brutal violence may arise without any identifiable evil.
Festival Holland Festival
Run time 90 minutes
Genre Theatre
Language Language no problem
Please note This performance contains scenes of police violence and high sound volume.
Bros
In this work from Castellucci, twenty-three non-professional actors play the leading role alongside three professional performers. They wear American police uniforms and receive instructions via an earpiece. All of them have signed a pact in which they agree to comply. Without knowing what will happen in advance, they perform actions not of their own choosing, without being able to foresee the consequences. This results in a hallucinatory series of shocking situations. -|-
Castellucci is known for the indelible images in his work that stick with audiences. His great feel for beauty grates against the heavy social issues he addresses. The group of policemen in Bros are reminiscent of Buster Keaton’s Cops but are nothing to laugh about. Castellucci raises questions about violence through a series of tableaux vivants. By mixing images from pop culture, Christian iconography and mass media, he presents a razor-sharp reflection on society in the form of a fascinating trip that is part silent film, slapstick comedy and current-day imagination.
Romeo Castellucci
Romeo Castellucci: ‘The artist’s task is to compose an aesthetically problematic image. The spectator’s task is to ‘look’, and only this verb calls upon spectators to make moral choices that question them personally.’
Credits
conceptRomeo Castellucci
direction Romeo Castellucci
music Scott Gibbons
cast Valer Dellakeza, Luca Nava, Sergio Scarlatella, figuranten
artistic collaboration Piersandra Di Matteo
set design PiersandraDi Matteo
light design PiersandraDi Matteo
assistant director Silvano Voltolina, Filippo Ferraresi
technical manager Eugenio Resta
stage technician Andrei Benchea
light Andrea Sanson
costume design Chiara Venturini
sculptures Plastikart
studio realisation costumes Grazia Bagnaresi
translation Latin Stefano Bartolini
production management Benedetta Briglia, Giulia Colla
distribution Gilda Biasini
administration Michela Medri, Elisa Bruno, Simona Barducci
economic consultation Massimiliano Coli
production Socìetas -|-
coproductionKunstenfestivaldesarts, Printemps des Comédiens Montpellier, LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura, Maillon, Théâtre de Strasbourg – Scène européenne, Temporada Alta, Manège Maubeuge, scène nationale transfrontalière, Le Phénix, scène Nationale Valenciennes, MC93 — maison de la culture de Seine-Saint-Denis Bobigny, ERT Emilia Romagna Teatro Fondazione, Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen, Holland Festival, Triennale Milano, National Taichung Theater
This performance is made possible by Instituto Italiano di Cultura Amsterdam, Holland Festival
About Holland Festival
The Holland Festival is the largest international performing arts festival in the Netherlands and one of the oldest festivals in Europe. Founded in 1947, Holland Festival celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2022.
The festival takes place every June, in and around Amsterdam at various locations, indoors and outdoors, large-scale and intimate, online and offline.
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