ITA Live Encore: Oedipus
ITA Live Encore: Experience the very best of the ITA Ensemble, from the comfort of your own home.
British director Robert Icke - Ibsen Artist in Residence at ITA - is known for his high-profile adaptations of classical pieces. With the ITA ensemble he made a modern version of Sophocles' Oedipus, in which Oedipus is a politician in the 21st century who finds out the greatest secret of his life. Featuring Hans Kesting ("Hans Kesting is a superb Oedipus." - The Guardian ★★★★★) and Marieke Heebink (nominated for the Theo d'Or for this role).
Duration 110 minutes
Genre theatre
Language Dutch
Subtitles English
Stream Saturday March 30
ITA Live Encore
This stream can be viewed on March 30 at 8:30 PM CET.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to watch the stream at another time.
About Oedipus
It is election night. Oedipus is on the verge of a massive victory. The country has not known a leader for many years since Laius' death. The ambitions are great. Oedipus wants to create a future, create a new way of life. He also insists, if elected, that the investigation into the death of his predecessor is reopened. This is very much against the wishes of his campaign manager Creon. Tiresias also makes an appearance. The blind seer makes some ominous predictions: the future has always been buried in the past.
Oedipus suspects a plot and turns his back on them. In the meanwhile, in the half-empty campaign headquarters, Oedipus is surprised by his family - mother, wife and children - with a dinner. An old incident is thereby brought up. Gradually, Oedipus discovers that his past is very different from what he has always thought. -|-
During his research, the pieces of the puzzle fall together. Oedipus tries to control his fate, but discovers that he has been seeing blind all along. The consequences are catastrophic.
Oedipus' quest is full of surprising twists. That makes its settlement a blood-curdling thriller. Who looks on impassively as someone who digs uncompromisingly for the truth faces his own downfall? Oedipus is much more than the story of a man who has been seeing blind. The centuries-long attraction is and remains the recognizability of its fate: existence is fragile. And the realisation that it is almost impossible to keep our life and happiness in our own hands.
REVIEWS
The Guardian
‘Oedipus is played with magnetic naturalism by Hans Kesting.'
The Herald
‘At the self-destructive heart of Icke’s Internationaal Theater Amsterdam production are Hans Kesting and Marieke Heebink’s towering performances as the doomed couple whose attempt to do good are thwarted by the trickledown effects of their respective pasts.’
The Times
‘It’s a superb interpretation of Sophocles’s story that feels modern and timeless.’
The Guardian
‘The cast is first-rate – flawless. As Jocaste, Marieke Heebink is devastating – and devastated – as she spills the details of her past to Oedipus. Frieda Pittoors as Merope, the woman who passes for Oedipus’s mother, is excellent too: a brittle old lady, comically marooned, never parted from her handbag.’
CREDITS
after Sophocles
written and directed by Robert Icke
scenography Hildegard Bechtler
translation Rob Klinkenberg
lighting design Natasha Chivers
video Tal Yarden
sound design Tom Gibbons
costume design Wojciech Dziedzic
photography Jan Versweyveld
private producers Joost and Marcelle Kuiper, Harry and Marijke van den Bergh, Joachim Fleury
assistant director Daniël ’t Hoen
assistant scenography Bart van Merode
assistant constumes Eleftheria Lavdaki
-|-
cast Hans Kesting, Marieke Heebink, David Roos, Bart Bijnens, Hélène Devos, Aus Greidanus jr., Frieda Pittoors, Bart Slegers, Hugo Koolschijn, Eva Heijnen, Alexander Elmecky, Minne Koole
technical staff Kevin Cuyvers (1e inspiciënt), Martijn Smolders, Sebastiaan Kouwets, Paul van der Zouwe, Luuk Geertsen, Erwin Sterk, Jeffrey van Vloten, Ruud de Vos, Daan Westendorp
casting advice Hans Kemna
photography Jan Versweyveld
image editing Henri Verhoef
with thanks to Nesoptiek, Vera Hoogstad, Johan Reyniers
