The Laws
In her debut novel The Laws, Connie Palmen tells the story of a woman in search of herself. Seven encounters with seven men over seven years. We see how she grows into being a writer and gives meaning to her life thanks to and despite these encounters.
Duration 135 minutes
Genre Theatre
Language Dutch
Surtitles In English every night in August
The Laws
Within the year of publication, this book sold over 400,000 copies. Thirty years later, it has become a modern classic. Eline Arbo makes a contemporary adaptation in which the characters are detached from gender and origin. -|-
For her adaptation of Weg met Eddy Bellegueule (Away with Eddy Bellegueule), Eline Arbo won the Regieprijs 2020 (Directing Award 2020). Last season, she directed the hit performance The Years based on the book by Annie Ernaux, the most recent winner of the Nobel Prize for literature. For ITA, she previously directed The Hours after the novel by Michael Cunningham and Penthesilea by Heinrich von Kleist. Since September 2023, Eline Arbo is Artistic Director at ITA.
Connie Palmen on The Laws
“I am a great admirer of Eline Arbo's transformative and personal work. She has shown me, with every performance of a novel, novel character, or writer, something I had not understood about the book or seen in that writer myself. So I am handing over my novel The Laws and myself to her imagination in complete confidence, and I am extremely curious to see what she shows me.”
Photo: Fjodor Buis
Eline Arbo on The Laws
“When I first read The Laws, it was like reading about my own life: the search for your own voice, your artistry and who you are in relation to others. It is an unforgettable exploration of being human, in the perfect balance between universal and personal. I am honoured to bring this absolute masterpiece by Connie Palmen to the stage.”
In the press
Trouw
“A grand and compelling theatrical translation of the classic.”
Theaterkrant
“Eline Arbo and the ITA Ensemble devotedly and dynamically portray the pain of thinking that leads to loneliness.”
Het Parool
“Eline Arbo adapts 'De wetten', Connie Palmen's debut, into a clever performance.”
DIGITAL BROCHURE
Read more about the production's author, direction, music, scenography and costumes in our digital brochure.
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 24|25, she will create Giovanni's Room (James Baldwin) and The Wall (Marlen Haushofer); re-make The End of Eddy (Édouard Louis) and The Years (Annie Ernaux), which she previously directed elsewhere; and her stagings of The Laws (Connie Palmen), Prima Facie (Suzie Miller), Penthesilea (Heinrich von Kleist) and The Hours (Michael Cunningham) will be reprised.
Ibsen Artist in Residence
Since January 2023, Eline Arbo is Ibsen Artist in Residence, an initiative of the Philip Loubser Foundation, which gives directors with an international ambition the opportunity to develop themselves artistically. The Ibsen Artist in Residence receives an annual budget for their own artistic development, also outside ITA.
CREDITS
by Connie Palmen
direction Eline Arbo
composition and live music Thijs van Vuure
adaptation Eline Arbo and Peter Van Kraaij
dramaturgy Peter Van Kraaij
scenography Roel Van Berckelaer
light design Varja Klosse
costumes Wojciech Dziedzic
sound design Dennis Slot
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private producer Jeroen van Ingen & Jaap Kooijman, Esther Kwaks and Anna Wouters, Bertil van Kaam, Hendrik Jan ten Have & Gabriella de Rooij
this production is supported by the Philip Loubser Foundation within Eline Arbo's Ibsen Artist in Residency
supported by Ammodo
Based on The Laws by Connie Palmen published by Prometheus Publishers
This performance is supported by
