Lehman Trilogy
"Lehman Trilogy is a layered and successful epic about unbridled capitalism." – Trouw ★★★★★
Lehman Trilogy has caused a furore on the West End and Broadway in recent years. Directed by Guy Cassiers, ITA is presenting this unparalleled 150-year story in the Dutch language for the first time.
Run time 3 hours 30 minutes, incl. intermission
Genre theatre
Language Dutch
Lehman Trilogy
In the middle of the 19th century, three Jewish brothers emigrate from Bavaria to America. In the Deep South they start a small fabric shop and become wealthy in the cotton trade. Their family business develops into a dizzying financial empire that is handed down from generation to generation. In 2008 it is jointly responsible for the financial and banking crisis. This is how Lehman Brothers self-destructs.
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With Lehman Trilogy, the Italian author Stefano Massini not only wrote the story of a family, but also the history of ruthless American capitalism. Slavery and industrialization, war and new technological developments: whatever happens in America and even globally, the Lehmans always know how to make good money out of it. Everything they plan to do – including getting married and having children – is tested in advance against the question: what will it yield? Gradually, the technology and impersonality of the financial system become part of the relationships within the family.
Guy Cassiers about The Lehman Trilogy
"We follow a family from the moment the first Lehman arrives in New York with only a suitcase, for one hundred and seventy-five years, and at the same time we trace the history of banking. It is a fable about capitalism that shows in great detail how money has always been a guiding factor in how we have continued to develop. So we get not only the story of how the financial world has had an increasing impact on our daily existence, but also a family tragedy. It is about the America of the past, but at the same time also about what America still means to us here in Europe. That's why it's so relevant."
REVIEWS
Trouw
"Lehman Trilogy is a layered and successful epic about unbridled capitalism."
Nederlands Dagblad
"Although the play is three hours long, Lehman Trilogy does not feel boring for a moment."
De Standaard
"Besides the cleverly formulated stage text, the six actors, each playing multiple roles, are another trump card of the show."
8weekly
"Cassiers grabs his audience by the throat from that first appearance of Nietvelt and doesn't let go for three parts in a performance that rolls on, exciting, witty, cynical - and from time to time pitiful."
De Tijd
"It is four hours of fascinating drama about the rise and fall of the iconic investment bank."
PROGRAM BROCHURE
Read more about the production's direction and scenography in our digital brochure.
GO BEHIND THE SCENES
Guy Cassiers (born in Antwerp, 1960) is considered one of Europe’s top theatre-makers. His idiosyncratic theatrical idiom in which he successfully marries visual technology with a passion for literature is highly esteemed within Belgium and throughout the world. He has been artistic director of Toneelhuis from 2006 - 2022.
In season 23|24 his direction of Primeval and Other Times (Olga Tokarczuk) will premiere at ITA and his direction of Lehman Trilogy will be reprised.
CREDITS
by Stefano Massini
director Guy Cassiers
translation Els van der Pluijm
dramaturgy Erwin Jans
scenography Guy Cassiers, Bram Delafonteyne
light design Frank Hardy
video Bram Delafonteyne
sound design Jeroen Kenes
costume design Devastator
co-producer More Theater Producties
private producer Esther Kwaks, Anna Wouters, Gabriella de Rooij and Hendrik Jan ten Have
supported by Ammodo, Brook Foundation
with special thanks to Auteursrechtenbureau TDI Agency Holland Ernst M. van den Berg
The stage rights of the play LEHMAN TRILOGY/LEHMAN BROTHERS by Stefano Massini are represented by Zachar International, Milano, in collaboration with TDI-Agency Holland, Amsterdam
This performance is supported by
Ivo van Hove adapted Who Killed My Father, by internationally acclaimed writer Édouard Louis, for the stage. Van Hove turned the very outspoken book into a monologue, especially for Hans Kesting.
