ITA Ensemble

The End of Eddy

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25 Aug '25 to 06 Jun '26

The End of Eddy

ITA Ensemble

Shows

Mon 25 Aug
20:00 - 21:45
Grote Zaal
performance / Geen pauze
Tue 26 Aug
20:00 - 21:45
Grote Zaal
performance / Geen pauze
Wed 27 Aug
20:00 - 21:45
Grote Zaal
performance / Geen pauze
Thu 28 Aug
20:00 - 21:45
Grote Zaal
Boventiteling / performance / aftertalk / Geen pauze
Sun 31 Aug
15:30 - 17:15
Grote Zaal
performance matinee / Geen pauze
Mon 01 Sep
20:00 - 21:45
Grote Zaal
performance / Geen pauze
Wed 15 Apr
20:15 - 22:00
Theaters Tilburg, Tilburg
performance / Geen pauze
Tue 21 Apr
20:00 - 21:45
Theater Rotterdam, Rotterdam
performance / Geen pauze
Wed 22 Apr
20:00 - 21:45
Theater Rotterdam, Rotterdam
performance / Geen pauze
Fri 24 Apr
20:30 - 22:15
Theater De Vest, Alkmaar
performance / Geen pauze
Sat 25 Apr
20:30 - 22:15
Theater De Vest, Alkmaar
performance / Geen pauze
Wed 29 Apr
20:00 - 21:45
Stadsschouwburg Utrecht, UTRECHT
performance / Geen pauze
Thu 30 Apr
20:00 - 21:45
Stadsschouwburg Utrecht, UTRECHT
performance / Geen pauze
Fri 01 May
20:00 - 21:45
Theater aan het Spui, Den Haag
performance / Geen pauze
Sat 02 May
20:00 - 21:45
Theater aan het Spui, Den Haag
performance / Geen pauze
Sun 03 May
15:00 - 16:45
Theater aan het Spui, Den Haag
performance / Geen pauze
Thu 07 May
20:00 - 21:45
Grote Zaal
Boventiteling / performance / Geen pauze
Fri 08 May
20:00 - 21:45
Grote Zaal
performance / aftertalk / Geen pauze
Sat 09 May
20:00 - 21:45
Grote Zaal
performance / Geen pauze
Sun 10 May
15:30 - 17:15
Grote Zaal
performance matinee / Geen pauze
Wed 13 May
20:00 - 21:45
Grote Zaal
performance / Geen pauze
Fri 15 May
20:00 - 21:45
Grote Zaal
performance / aftertalk / Geen pauze
Sat 16 May
20:00 - 21:45
Grote Zaal
performance / Geen pauze
Sun 17 May
15:30 - 17:15
Grote Zaal
performance matinee / Geen pauze
Wed 20 May
20:00 - 21:45
Grote Zaal
performance / Geen pauze
Thu 21 May
20:00 - 21:45
Grote Zaal
Boventiteling / performance / Geen pauze
Fri 22 May
20:00 - 21:45
Grote Zaal
performance / aftertalk / Geen pauze
Sat 23 May
20:00 - 21:45
Grote Zaal
performance / Geen pauze
Tue 26 May
20:30 - 22:15
Parktheater Eindhoven, EINDHOVEN
performance / Geen pauze
Wed 27 May
20:30 - 22:15
Parktheater Eindhoven, EINDHOVEN
performance / Geen pauze
Thu 28 May
20:30 - 22:15
Schuur, Haarlem
performance / Geen pauze
Fri 29 May
20:30 - 22:15
Schuur, Haarlem
performance / Geen pauze
Tue 02 Jun
20:30 - 22:15
Chassé Theater, Breda
performance / Geen pauze
Wed 03 Jun
20:30 - 22:15
Chassé Theater, Breda
performance / Geen pauze
Fri 05 Jun
20:30 - 22:15
Parkstad Limburg Theaters, Heerlen
performance / Geen pauze
Sat 06 Jun
20:30 - 22:15
Parkstad Limburg Theaters, Heerlen
performance / Geen pauze
The End of Eddy
25 Aug '25 to 06 Jun '26
ITA Ensemble / Toneelschuur Producties / Eline Arbo

Édouard Louis took the world by storm with his successful autobiographical novel The End of Eddy. Without much frills, the novel tells the life story of a homosexual boy growing up in a homophobic environment.

Run time 95 minutes
Genre Theatre
Language Dutch
Surtitles English, Thu, Aug 28 and Thu, May 7 & 21

In Gesprek Thu, Aug 28 and Fri, May 8, 15 & 22

The End of Eddy


In a small village in the north of France, the gentle and sensitive Eddy grows up in a mundane, vulgar, and merciless working-class environment. We follow him during his many attempts at being a 'normal boy'. To his detriment, he is nothing like the children around him. His posture, his manner of speaking and even his walk earn him as much humiliation from his classmates as from his alcoholic father and bossy mother. Even before he has the slightest inkling of desire, many people assume he is gay. By telling his story, Eddy reveals how stifling this environment is. Will he be able to break free?

In 2020, director Eline Arbo made her own theatrical and musical adaptation of this novel for Toneelschuur Producties. She was awarded the VSCD directing award for this theatrical hit and the performance was selected for the Dutch Theatre Festival. The original cast from 2020 was nominated for the Louis d'Or, which at the time was the theatre award for best male lead.
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Four young actors played all the characters and also shared the lead role. It was the first time that multiple actors were nominated as one for one part. “As if it were a compelling choreography: text, music and stage design are constantly interacting with each other, resulting in a colourful and unpredictable evening of theatre,” the jury rapport stated.

“In the overwhelming The End of Eddy, director Eline Arbo portrays how several residents of a small working-class village attempt to escape their own limited frames of mind – to no avail. The result is thrilling, heartbreaking and sincere theatre, which still resonates unabated months later.” – De Theaterjury

Romijn Scholten, Felix Schellekens, Minne Koole and Jesse Mensah play The End of Eddy at the ITA Ensemble in Internationaal Theater Amsterdam (ITA).
Romijn Scholten, Felix Schellekens, Minne Koole and Jesse Mensah play The End of Eddy at the ITA Ensemble in Internationaal Theater Amsterdam (ITA).
Eline Arbo during the rehearsal for The End of Eddy with the ITA Ensemble in Internationaal Theater Amsterdam (ITA).

Eline Arbo about the play

“The first time I read The End of Eddy, I was blown away by the raw energy, the recognisable teen angst, the clever social criticism, the sense of injustice, and the protagonist's battle to claim a place in the world. The story is deeply personal, yet at the same time universal. We get a glimpse into the life of a boy trying to grow up in a village and in a family in which there is no room for anyone who is different. Like a chameleon, he tries to fit in. But in the end, he makes a break from his past and creates a life in which he is allowed to be himself. I am still proud of the stage adaptation I made of this book in 2020. Sadly, we still live in the same world today as we did then, in which people are discriminated against because of their sexual orientation. That is why I think it is important to keep telling this story. Thanks to ITA's repertoire system, the performance can continue to exist, as requested by many.”

In Gesprek

After the performance, come and think, listen and chat at In Gesprek. We invite a guest to further explore the themes of The End of Eddy and to exchange experiences. If you have any questions, this is the perfect time to ask them. In Gesprek is free of charge and starts shortly after the performance in one of our foyers, is conducted in Dutch and lasts about half an hour.

CAST

Language NP Language no problem Minne Koole Minne Koole
Language NP Language no problem Jesse Mensah Jesse Mensah
Language NP Language no problem Felix Schellekens Felix Schellekens
Language NP Language no problem Romijn Scholten Romijn Scholten

REVIEWS

The Guardian

“[…] the play embodies a strong plea for the transforming power of theatre and its empathetic leaps of imagination.”

de Volkskrant

“The play directed by Eline Arbo is at its deepest core an ode to theatre.”

Trouw

“A beautiful drama about being different in a brutish environment.”

NRC

“One of the best plays of this season.”

Theaterkrant (Critic's Choice)

“Highlight of this theatrical season.”

Het Parool

“The theatrical adaptation of Édouard Louis' hit book is stellar.”

Romijn Scholten, Felix Schellekens, Minne Koole and Jesse Mensah play The End of Eddy at the ITA Ensemble in Internationaal Theater Amsterdam (ITA).

DIGITAL BROCHURE

Read more about the story, music and creative team of The End of Eddy in our digital programme brochure.

TO THE BROCHURE
Romijn Scholten, Minne Koole and Jesse Mensah play The End of Eddy at the ITA Ensemble in Internationaal Theater Amsterdam (ITA).
Eline Arbo
Director
Eline Arbo

Eline Arbo is Artistic Director at ITA since September 2023. From 2022 she was already linked to ITA as Associate Artistic Director. From January 2023, Arbo was appointed Ibsen Artist in Residence, an initiative of the Philip Loubser Foundation, which gives directors with an international ambition the opportunity to develop themselves artistically.

In season 25|26, she will create Copenhagen Trilogy (Tove Ditlevsen) and her stagings of Giovanni's Room (James Baldwin), The Laws (Connie Palmen), Prima Facie (Suzie Miller), The Wall (Marlen Haushofer) and The End of Eddy (Édouard Louis), will be reprised.

View Profile
Eline Arbo directs ITA Ensemble in The End of Eddy by Édouard Louis

Author

Édouard Louis

Young writer and sociologist Édouard Louis (1992) was born Eddy Bellegueule. Ever since his debut came out, he has been considered one of the most celebrated writers of his generation, and an important voice in the political debate in France. His themes are social and economic inequality, family, and sexuality. His passionate and socially engaged work has been embraced by the international theatre world: his books have been adapted for theatre almost 40 times worldwide. Ivo Van Hove has previously staged Who Killed My Father and A Woman’s Battles and Transformations at ITA.

“All my writing is political – and all my life is, too.” – Édouard Louis in The Guardian

Credits


by Édouard Louis
direction Eline Arbo
adaptation Eline Arbo and Thomas Lamers
dramatugy Thomas Lamers
sound design Thijs van Vuure
scenography Juul Dekker
lightning design Varja Klosse
costume design Rebekka Wörmann
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original producer Toneelschuur Producties
private producer Mechteld Daniels and Joris Kaak

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