Les Noms
Les Noms (The Names) offers a special insight into the America of the seventies. It is a portrait of a marriage in crisis and the story of a murderous sect. This 1982 novel was DeLillo’s break-through work. “The Names is a prophetic, pre-9/11 masterpiece: a 21st-century novel,” wrote The Guardian.
Rabozaal
Duration: 3 hrs, no intermission
Language: French with Dutch surtitles
Su 14 apr: marathon
‘All aspects of Gosselin’s show – acting, film, dramaturgy, polymorphous scenery and live music – are superb.’ – The Guardian *****
The marriage of hack James Axton has reached crisis point when his wife decides to travel to A Greek island to volunteer at an excavation. In order to be with her and their son, he takes a job as a risk analyst. From his base in Athens he travels through the Middle East, and reports on the hostage taking at the American embassy in Tehran, an action that causes a political earthquake. James is witnessing the beginning of the modern Islamic revolution.
James' entanglements are interwoven with a plot about a mysterious ‘language cult’ behind a number of unexplained murders. Central themes in Les Noms are the intersection of language and culture, the perception of American culture both inside and outside their own national borders, and the impact that the narrative has on the facts of a story.
Joueurs, Mao II, Les Noms is the first part of a major project by Julien Gosselin, based on the work of American writer Don DeLillo. The separate parts can be seen prior to this marathon performance on 14 April.
With French director Julien Gosselin (Les Particules Élementaires and 2666), we will be adding one of the world’s greatest young directing talents to our theatre company. In his debut at ITA, Falling Man, he reflects on global terrorism and its effect on a family in New York during the aftermath of 9/11.
The performance is part of Gosselin’s great international Don DeLillo project, the first part of which will premiere at the Festival d’Avignon this summer. Part two, Falling Man with Eelco Smits, Hans Kesting, Maria Kraakman et al., premiered in March 2019. ITA is the only place in the world where both parts have been performed.
