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 tba
Genre theater
Language Dutch
Surtitles Thu March 14 & 21
Public rehearsal Wed 6 March
Opening night Sun 10 March
In Gesprek Fri 22 March
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. -|-
With 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: Annaleen Louwes
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 GESPREK
After the performance, come and think, listen and chat at In Gesprek. We invite a guest to further explore the themes of The Laws 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.
Eline Arbo is Artistic Director at ITA since September 2023. Previously (2022 - 2023) she was already linked to ITA as Associate Artistic Director. From January ‘23, Arbo will be 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 23|24 her directions of Prima Facie (Suzie Miller) and The Laws (Connie Palmen) will premiere at ITA and her directions of Penthesilea and The Hours 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
adaptation Peter van Kraaij en Eline Arbo
dramaturgy Peter van Kraaij
scenography Roel van Berckelaer
light design Varja Klosse
sound design and composition Thijs van Vuure
costumes Wojciech Dziedzic
-|-
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
