Who Killed My Father
“Merciless and moving portrait.” - de Volkskrant ★★★★
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.
Run time 85 minutes
Genre Theatre
Language Dutch
Surtitles English, Thu, February 20 & 27
In Gesprek Fri February 21 & 28
Who Killed My Father
The anger-soaked Who Killed My Father is written in the form a letter to his father. Louis found his inspiration in a visit he paid to his father after not seeing him for some time, finding him almost unrecognizable. The man had become ill and aged prematurely, the result of a life marked by alcohol, social deprivation, hard work, and an industrial accident. Louis explains this to the elite, for whom politics is primarily an 'aesthetic issue': they engage in politics that has virtually no influence on their lives. The underclass, on the other hand, is devastated by cutbacks in benefits.
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According to the French weekly L'Opinion, the book is read in the Élysée - the official residence of the French president. Louis' diagnosis would align perfectly with Emmanuel Macron's. The writer himself sees it very differently. 'My book is against who you are and what you do', he tweeted to Macron. 'I write to disgrace you.'
Ivo van Hove on Who Killed My Father
“A gripping story about a father who at the age of fifty is a physical and mental wreck because of the hard work in the heavy industry of northern France. It is both a furious indictment of the political elite and a son's declaration of love to his father. Édouard Louis also writes about how, as a young homosexual, he was condemned to be an outcast by his own working-class family. With this cheeky, brilliant text I made a monologue for Hans Kesting.”
In the press
NRC
“Hans Kesting overwhelms in theatrical version Who Killed My Father.”
De Volkskrant
“Merciless and moving portrait.”
Ivo van Hove was Artistic Director of Internationaal Theater Amsterdam from 2001 to 2023. As stage director, he signed on for numerous ground-breaking and highly acclaimed productions such as The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand) and A Little Life (Hanya Yanagihara), as well as the two Shakespeare marathons Roman Tragedies and Kings of War, with which the ensemble toured around the world. After twenty-two years, Van Hove decided to leave ITA and concentrate on his international directing work. He will also head the Ruhrtriennale as Artistic Director from 2024 to 2026.
In the 24/25 season, his productions of Who Killed My Father (Édouard Louis) and Angels in America (Tony Kushner) will be revived.
Credits
based on the book by Édouard Louis
translation, adaptation and direction Ivo van Hove
with Hans Kesting
stage design and light Jan Versweyveld
costumes An D'Huys
music George Dhauw
co-producer deSingel Antwerp
private producer Jeroen van Ingen and Jaap Kooijman, Bertil van Kaam
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.
