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Ivo van Hove

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Ivo van Hove
Van Hove in 2024
Born (1958-10-28) 28 October 1958 (age 66)
Heist-op-den-Berg, Belgium
OccupationTheatre director
Years active1981–present
PartnerJan Versweyveld

Ivo van Hove (born 28 October 1958) is a Belgian theatre director. He is known for his Off-Broadway avant-garde experimental theatre productions. For over twenty years, he served as the director of the Toneelgroep Amsterdam.[1][2][3] On Broadway, he has directed revival productions of Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge, and The Crucible (both in 2015), Lee Hall's Network in 2018, and Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim's West Side Story in 2020. Among his numerous awards he has received a Tony Award and a Laurence Olivier Award for A View from the Bridge. He was made a Knight of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France in 2004, and a Commander in the Order of the Crown in 2016.

Career

Born in Heist-op-den-Berg, van Hove began his career as a stage director in 1981, working with plays he had written himself such as Ziektekiemen (Germs) and Geruchten (Rumors).[4] He was artistic manager at AKT, Akt-Vertical and then De Tijd. Between 1990 and 2000 he worked as the director of Het Zuidelijk Toneel. From 2001 to 2023, van Hove was general director of Toneelgroep Amsterdam (the Amsterdam theatre group).[5] He has coordinated productions at the Edinburgh International Festival, the Venice Biennale, the Holland Festival, Theater der Welt, and the Wiener Festwochen. He has directed companies from Hamburg's Deutsches Schauspielhaus, Staatstheater Stuttgart, directed Hedda Gabler, The Little Foxes and Scenes from a Marriage at the New York Theatre Workshop and the award-winning A View from the Bridge at the Young Vic.

Apart from the theatre, van Hove directed Thuisfront for Dutch television; his first cinematic film, Amsterdam, came out in 2009. Van Hove directed the musical Rent for Joop van den Ende. At the Vlaamse Opera, he staged a production of Alban Berg's opera Lulu, as well as the complete Ring Cycle by Richard Wagner (2006–08). He put on a production of Janáček's De Zaak Makropoulos, and Tchaikovsky's Iolanta for the De Nederlandse Opera in Amsterdam. From 1998 until 2004, van Hove was festival manager of the Holland Festival, where he presented an annual selection of international theatre, music, opera and dance.

From 2001 to 2023, he was the general director of Internationaal Theater Amsterdam (formerly known as Toneelgroep Amsterdam), the prime theatre company of The Netherlands and the official municipal theatre company of Amsterdam. Van Hove's international focus explains why the company has been invited by international festivals such as Ruhrtriennale, Vienna Festival, the Edinburgh Festival and Festival d'Avignon, and performs in the United States, Russia and Australia, and why well-known directors such as Christoph Marthaler, Krzysztof Warlikowski, Johan Simons, Thomas Ostermeier, Luk Perceval [nl], Simon Stone and Katie Mitchell have joined the troupe as guest directors. For Toneelgroep Amsterdam van Hove has directed Angels in America by Tony Kushner, the marathon performance Roman Tragedies (based on Shakespearean works), Opening Night by John Cassavetes, Rocco and his Brothers by Luchino Visconti, and Teorema (based on the work of Pier Paolo Pasolini, in partnership with the Ruhrtriennale), Antonioni-Project in tribute to Michelangelo Antonioni, La voix humaine (The Human Voice) by Jean Cocteau, Summer Trilogy in tribute to Carlo Goldoni, Children of the Sun by Maxim Gorky, The Miser by Molière, Scenes from a Marriage, Cries and Whispers and After the Rehearsal / Persona by Ingmar Bergman, And We'll Never Be Parted by Jon Fosse, The Russians! by Tom Lanoye, based on Chekhov, The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, Mary Stuart by Friedrich Schiller, Kings of War (based on Henry V, Henry IV, Part 2, Henry VI, and Richard III by William Shakespeare), The Hidden Force by Louis Couperus and The Other Voice by Ramsey Nasr.

In 2015, van Hove made his Broadway debut with a production of Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge, which won Tony Awards for Best Revival of a Play and Best Direction of a Play. He also directed Broadway productions of Arthur Miller's The Crucible (2016), a stage adaptation of the 1976 film Network starring Bryan Cranston (2018), and a 2020 revival of West Side Story.

In 2023, van Hove was placed on leave as director of Internationaal Theater Amsterdam amid allegations that bullying and harassment becoming prevalent throughout the company. A full investigation was commissioned, which concluded in 2024 with Van Hove's permanent departure from the theatre and the resignation of its supervisory board; the report found that a "culture of fear" had become entrenched during Van Hove's leadership.[6]

In 2024, van Hove became director of the Ruhrtriennale.[6]

Philosophy

Van Hove's signature style is an ultra-modern minimalism shot through with an expressionist theatricality. In an interview with Kate Kellaway, he commented

I don’t know what "being faithful to a text" means. There’s not one truth. As a director or actor, you have to give an interpretation of a line. I get 10 different people to say "I love you" – three words, an objective truth – and yet each time it is spoken it is different. I’m known for my preparation. For actors, this is not a threat, it is freedom. I like to create the world in which the text will blossom best.[7]

He has said in numerous interviews[8] that he approves of Ben Brantley's designation of him as a 'maximalist minimalist'.

He is regularly cited as an influence on many of the foremost names in a younger generation of theatre makers, including Sam Gold, Simon Stone and Robert Icke, all of whom he has invited to direct at Toneelgroep Amsterdam.[9]

Personal life

Van Hove is openly gay. His longtime partner since circa 1980 is set designer Jan Versweyveld.[10]

Productions

Broadway productions

International productions

European productions

  • Productions in Belgium and the Netherlands

Toneelgroep Amsterdam

Zuidelijk Toneel

  • 1999–2000: Alice in Bed by Susan Sontag (co-production with New York Theatre Workshop and Holland Festival); De dame met de camelia's (La Dame aux camélias) by Alexandre Dumas
  • 1998–1999: India Song by Marguerite Duras (co-production with Holland Festival)
  • 1997–1998: Romeo en Julia (studie van een verdrinkend lichaam) (Romeo and Juliet: A study of a drowning body) by Peter Verhelst after Shakespeare (co-production with Holland Festival)
  • 1996–1997: Koppen (Faces) by John Cassavetes (co-production with Holland Festival); De onbeminden (Les Mal Aimés) by François Mauriac
  • 1995–1996: Caligula by Albert Camus
  • 1994–1995: De tramlijn die Verlangen heet (A Streetcar Named Desire) by Tennessee Williams; Splendid's by Jean Genet
  • 1993–1994: Rijkemanshuis (More Stately Mansions) by Eugene O'Neill (co-production with Holland Festival)
  • 1992–1993: Hamlet by William Shakespeare (co-production with Antwerp European Cultural Capital 1993); Gered (Saved) by Edward Bond
  • 1991–1992: Het Begeren onder de Olmen (Desire Under the Elms) by Eugene O'Neill; Toch zonde van die hoer ('Tis Pity She's a Whore) by John Ford
  • 1990–1991: Ajax/Antigone by Sophocles; Het Zuiden (South) by Julien Green
  • 1988–1989: Rouw siert Electra (Mourning Becomes Electra) by Eugene 0'Neill

Theater van het Oosten

  • 1989–1990: Richard II by William Shakespeare

De Tijd

  • 1989–1990: Jakow Bogomolow by Maxim Gorky; Lulu by Frank Wedekind (co-production with Toneelgroep Amsterdam)
  • 1988–1989: Don Carlos by Friedrich von Schiller
  • 1987–1988: In de eenzaamheid van de katoenvelden (Dans la solitude des champs de coton) by Bernard-Marie Koltès; Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Akt/Vertikaal

  • 1986–1987: Bacchanten (The Bacchae) by Euripides
  • 1985–1986: Russische Openbaring (Russian Gambit) by Heiner Müller; ImitatieS (ImitationS) (group project)
  • 1984–1985: India Song by Marguerite Duras; Wonderen der mensheid (Miracles of Humanity) (group project); Wilde heren (Wild Men) (group project)

Vertikaal

Akt

  • 1983–1984: Marokko (Morocco) by Botho Strauss; Agatha by Marguerite Duras
  • 1982–1983: Als in de oorlog (Like in the War) by Sophocles/Gie Laenen (as part of Europalia)
  • 1981–1982: Ziektekiemen (Germs) by Ivo van Hove; Geruchten (Rumours) by Ivo van Hove

Work

Opera

Musical

Film/television

1997: Thuisfront (Home Front) (NPS) by Peter van Kraaij (co-production with Zuidelijk Toneel) 2008: Amsterdam by Jeroen Planting

Awards and honours

Van Hove won two Obie Awards for Best Production of an off-Broadway production in New York (for More Stately Mansions and Hedda Gabler, respectively), as well as the East Flanders Oeuvre Prize (1995), the Theatre Festival Prize (1996), and the Archangel Award at the Edinburgh Festival (1999).

He was made a Knight of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France in 2004. In 2007 he received the Prijs van de Kritiek in the Netherlands, a prize awarded by theatre critics. In 2008, he received the Prosceniumprijs, a Dutch theatre prize, together with Jan Versweyveld and in 2012 the Amsterdam Business Oeuvre Award. In 2014, van Hove received an honorary doctorate for general merit of the University of Antwerp.

In 2015, he won a Best Director Laurence Olivier Award for A View From the Bridge at the Young Vic and Wyndham's Theatre in London and the Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Director. Van Hove also won the Amsterdam Award for the Arts 2015, with Jan Versweyveld. In that same year he also received the IJ award by the city of Amsterdam.

In 2016 van Hove received The Founders Award for Excellence in Directing and became Honorary Citizen of Ham, Belgium. A View from the Bridge at the Lyceum Theatre was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Best Revival and Best Director and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Director and Best Revival, and won the Tony Award for Best Director and Best Revival. The Crucible at the Walter Kerr Theatre was nominated for the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Revival and the Tony Award for Best Revival. Vu du Pont at Théâtre de l'Odéon was nominated for Molières for Best Director and Best Revival.

In 2016, van Hove was made a Commander in the Order of the Crown.[17]

Other awards:

  • 1987: Oscar de Gruyter Prize for Best Direction (for Macbeth)
  • 1994: Publieks (Audience) Prize for Rijkemanshuis
  • 1996: Theatre Festival Prize for Caligula
  • 1998: Herald Angel at the Edinburgh Festival, for More Stately Mansions
  • 1999: Johan Fleerackers Prize for collaboration between Dutch and Flemish theatre; Arch Angel for best direction at the Edinburgh Festival, for India Song (after Marguerite Duras' film, India Song)

References

  1. ^ Thorpe, Vanessa. "Sophie Hunter: The Opera Director Who Has to Dodge Paparazzie". Sophie Hunter Central.
  2. ^ Meyer-Dinkgräfe, Daniel (2002). Who's Who in Contemporary World Theatre. Routledge. p. 315. ISBN 978-0-415-14162-8.
  3. ^ Sellar, Tom (11 September 2007). "The Dark Secrets of the Belgian Avant-Garde". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  4. ^ "Ivo van Hove". tga.nl. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  5. ^ Dickson, Andrew (2 April 2014). "'My aim is the ultimate production': Ivo van Hove on directing Arthur Miller". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  6. ^ a b Marshall, Alex (24 August 2024). "Company Severs Ties To Director Van Hove". The New York Times. p. C6. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
  7. ^ Kellaway, Kate (6 November 2016). "Ivo van Hove: 'I give it all as Bowie gave it all – in a masked way'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  8. ^ "Ivo van Hove, Private Passions - BBC Radio 3". BBC. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  9. ^ "Ivo van Hove: 'I can really kill a darling'". WhatsOnStage.com. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  10. ^ Mead, Rebecca (26 October 2015). "Theatre Laid Bare", The New Yorker
  11. ^ "Opening Night at Gielgud Theatre". Delfont Mackintosh Theatres. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  12. ^ McPhee, Ryan (13 February 2019). "Read the Reviews for London's All About Eve, Starring Gillian Anderson and Lily James". Playbill. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  13. ^ "Hedda Gabler | National Theatre". www.nationaltheatre.org.uk. 30 August 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  14. ^ Agency, Hands. "Les Damnés". Les Damnés. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  15. ^ "Review: Shakespeare's Take on the Game of Thrones" by Ben Brantley, The New York Times, 4 November 2016
  16. ^ "Boris Godounov - Opéra - Programmation Saison 17/18". Opéra national de Paris. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  17. ^ "Volgende Belgen worden in adelstand verheven", Het Laatste Nieuws, 19 July 2016 (in Dutch)

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