the damned
'The Damned is a crushing ode to the wickedness of humankind.'
- Trouw ★★★★★
In the summer of 2022, Ivo van Hove and ITA brought their version of Visconti's The Damned to the Amsterdam Bostheater. This immersive and cinematic theatre experience was ITA ensemble's first large-scale open air production. This season we are moving it indoors, to the theatre hall of Carré.
Location Carré
Run time 135 minutes
Genre theatre
Language Dutch
Livestream Sun, October 1
The age recommendation for this production is 16+. The performance contains explicit scenes, including violence and nudity.
The Damned
Ivo van Hove's direction of Les Damnés had its world premiere as the opening performance of the Festival d'Avignon. This theatrical adaptation, based on a film script by Italian film director Luchino Visconti, shows how a family of rich German industrialists is fatally corrupted by its collaboration with the Nazi party that has come to power. Family patriarch Baron Joachim resists and is liquidated. The struggle for the succession leads to an escalation of intrigues and manipulations, betrayal and murder.
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Les Damnés was met with rave reviews. The Guardian called it a 'chilling prophetic masterstroke'. The New York Times spoke of 'a rich and ruthless production'. 'Ivo van Hove again finds a mythical and epic dimension, while he lets his actors play the drama in the most organic and human way possible', wrote Le Monde.
IVO VAN HOVE ON THE DAMNED
‘It tells the story of the venomous alliance between politicians at the highest level and a family running the allmighty steel industry. Visconti situates his story at a pivotal moment in our European history: the rise of fascism in Germany. I think we should look very closely at these mechanisms, because they could be relevant for how we deal with major issues these days. In big, lavish scenes, The Damned gives us a look into the abyss of what humans are capable of and how easy this family solidifies with an extreme right wing regime just for financial gain. The Damned shows the rise and fall of an influential greedy family and an immoral political system. Or is it most of all a story that makes us think about the world we live in today?’
IN THE PRESS
Trouw
'The Damned is a crushing ode to the wickedness of humankind'
NRC
'Large-scale open-air theatre about the depravity of man'
de Telegraaf
'A masterpiece that hits home with the audience'
ITALive
On Sunday, October 1, the performance will be streamed live from Carré. The stream has English subtitles.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to watch the livestream at another time. We play the performance live on stage and the livestream is a direct connection so that you can watch what is happening in Carré at home.
Digital brochure
Read more about the story, direction and scenography in our digital brochure.
CREDITS
directed by Ivo van Hove
by Luchino Visconti, Nicola Badalucco and Enrico Medioli
translation Janine Brogt
dramaturgy Bart Van den Eynde
stage design and light Jan Versweyveld
costumes An D'Huys
composer, music and sound design Eric Sleichim
music performance BL!NDMAN [sax]: Pieter Pellens, Hendrik Pellens, Piet Rebel, Sebastiaan Cooman
video Tal Yarden
camera Boris de Ruijter, Thorsten Alofs
co-producer Comedie Française, Bl!ndman, Het Amsterdamse Bostheater
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assistant director Olivier Diepenhorst, Zorba Huisman
assistant dramaturgy Doris de Vries (intern)
assistant scenography Bart van Merode
assistant costumes Anna Gillis
assistant sound design Erwin Sterk
assistant video design Mark Thewessen
photography Dim Balsem, Fabian Calis
graphic design Serena Kloet, Sara Fortuin
communication Bart Buytenhek, Natasa Cvjetkovic, Evelien ter Ellen
This production 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.
