Your Digital Program

Contents
Credits
About Ivo Van Hove
Cast biographies
About Internationaal Theater Amsterdam

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Credits

Jude Ramsey Nasr
Willem Maarten Heijmans
JB Majd Mardo
Malcolm Edwin Jonker
Caleb, Luke, Traylor Hans Kesting 
Ana Marieke Heebink
Harold Steven Van Watermeulen
Andy Bart Slegers

concept and direction Ivo van Hove
based on the novel by Hanya Yanagihara
translation Kitty Pouwels and Josephine Ruitenberg
adaptation Koen Tachelet
dramaturgy Bart Van den Eynde
scenographer, light design Jan Versweyveld
video Mark Thewessen, Jan Versweyveld
music and sound design Eric Sleichim
musicians BL!NDMAN [strings]: Stefanie Van Backlé (violin), Marlon Dek (cello), Monica Goicea (viola), Femke Verstappen (violin)
costumes An D'Huys
assistant director Daniël 't Hoen
assistant scenographer Bart van Merode

casting advice Hans Kemna
coproducer GREC Festival, Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen
private producer Gert-Jan en Corinne van den Bergh, Hendrik Jan ten Have en Gabriëlla de Rooij, Joost en Marcelle Kuiper
production manager Michiel van Schijndel
head of technical Staff Reyer Meeter
stage manager Stijn van der Leeuw
crew Pepijn van Beek, Adriaan Beukema, Yannick Bruine De Bruin, Rinse de Jong, Paul Meijer, Dennis van Scheppingen, Erwin Sterk, Mark Thewessen, Jip van ’t Veer, Ruud de Vos
hair & make-up Mirjam Venema
wardrobe Farida Bouhbouh
titles Erik Borgman
photography Jan Versweyveld
publicity Natasa Cvjetkovic

coproduced by GREC Festival, Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen
private producer Gert-Jan and Corinne van den Bergh, Hendrik Jan ten Have and Gabrielle de Rooij, Joost and Marcelle Kuiper

supported by Ammodo
generously supported by the Girgensohn Foundation

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About Ivo Van Hove

Ivo van Hove has been General Director of Internationaal Theatre Amsterdam (former Toneelgroep Amsterdam) since 2001. He was artistic director of the Holland Festival from 1998 to 2004. His productions tour all over the world: the Edinburgh Festival, The Barbican, the Ruhrtriennale, Vienna Festival, Seoul, Sydney, Buenos Aires, New York and Festival d’Avignon. Works Van Hove has directed include Angels in America, a staged version of Yanagihara’s A Little Life, Shakespeare’s Roman Tragedies and Kings of War, Bergman’s Scenes from a Marriage, Schiller’s Mary Stuart and Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead. Other selected credits include A View from the Bridge at the Young Vic, Network and Hedda Gabler at the National Theatre, Visconti’s Obsession at the Barbican, and productions for Schaubühne Berlin, Paris’s Théâtre de l’Odéon and Comédie-Française and in New York he directed A streetcar named desire and Hedda Gabler at NYTW, A View from the Bridge, The Crucible, Network and the upcoming West Side Story on Broadway. With David Bowie and Enda Walsh he created Lazarus, which he also directed in London and Amsterdam. 

Opera credits include The Makropulos Case, Salome for Dutch National Opera, Boris Godunov and the upcoming Don Giovanni for Paris Opéra, world premiere Brokeback Mountain for Teatro Real Madrid, Macbeth for Opéra de Lyon, La clemenza di Tito and Idomeneo for La Monnaie, Brussels, Mazepa for Komische Oper Berlin.  

Van Hove has received many international accolades including two Tony Awards, two Obies and two Olivier Awards and many awards in France, Belgium and the Netherlands. He is a Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, received the Flemish Culture Prize for Overall Cultural Merit (2015) and has been made a Commander of the Order of the Crown by King Filip of Belgium. In 2019 he was awarded the Dutch state art prize; the Johannes Vermeer prize.

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Cast biographies

Ramsey Nasr
Jude

Ramsey Nasr (1974) is a poet, writer, actor and director. He graduated from the Studio Herman Teirlinck in Antwerp in 1995, and started his careers in acting and writing simultaneously. His first book of poems came out on the same evening he premiered his monologue called Geen Lied.

Not only did he continue writing poetry, he also became a well-known essayist and playwright. His stage text for Death in Venice, a unique co-production by Internationaal Theater Amsterdam and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra based on the novella by Thomas Mann, in which Ramsey also plays the leading role, premiered in 2019. He has also starred in award-winning television series and films, such as I.M: a series about Dutch journalist Ischa Meijer, for which Ramsey won a Golden Calf for Best Acting in a Television Drama.

Ramsey has been part of the ITA ensemble (formerly Toneelgroep Amsterdam) since 2013. He received the Louis d’Or (the Dutch theater award for the most impressive leading male role) twice: for his role as Jude in A Little Life and for his interpretation of Howard Roark in The Fountainhead.

Maarten Heijmans
Willem

Maarten Heijmans (1983) graduated from the Amsterdam Drama School and Academy of Performing Arts in 2007. His graduation play, The Crying Cherry, won the Amsterdam Fringe Award. He went on to play in countless theater productions and films and television series alike.

In 2014, he played the title role in Ramses, a television series about the legendary Dutch singer Ramses Shaffy's rise to fame. For this role, he was awarded an International Emmy Award and a Prix de l’Europe, amongst other prestigious Dutch awards such as a Golden Calf, Zilveren Nipkowschijf and a TV-Beelden award. In the following years, he toured The Netherlands with his band performing Ramses Shaffy’s music and recorded an album in 2019.

After he won an Arlecchino in 2017 (a theatre award for the most impressive supporting male role) for his part in Ibsen House directed by Simon Stone, Maarten joined the ITA ensemble (formerly Toneelgroep Amsterdam) during season 18/19. Other plays include Flight 49 (for which he was nominated for another Arlecchino), Age of Rage and The Magic Mountain.

Majd Mardo
JB

Majd Mardo (1989) graduated from the Maastricht Academy of Dramatic Arts in 2013. Next to his work as an actor at Internationaal Theater Amsterdam, Majd has appeared in films and television series.

Majd joined the ITA ensemble (formerly Toneelgroep Amsterdam) in the season of 18/19 and played roles in The Things That Pass, Roman Tragedies, The Homecoming, Falling Man, The Cherry Orchard, The Hours and Age of Rage, for which he won the Arlecchino (a theater award for the most impressive supporting male role) in 2022.

Edwin Jonker
Malcolm

After studying history for two years at the University of Amsterdam, Edwin Jonker (1976) made the switch to acting. He is an actor, singer and voice-over artist with a solid career in musical, theater, film, and television.

In 2001, he received a John Kraaijkamp Musical Award for Best Male Supporting Actor for his portrayal of the role of Tom Collins in Rent and in 2013 he was nominated for the same award for his portrayal of the role of Wet Harry in Sister Act.

In past years in The Netherlands, he also performed in the theater as Curtis in the grand tour of Dreamgirls and as the lead in A Chorus Line. Before that, he performed in the musicals Home (Julius), Copacabana (Ricco), The Lion King (Mufasa), Billy Holliday (including Lester Young) and Miss Saigon (John). In 2018, he starred in the tours of The Color Purple and Driving Miss Daisy, followed by the role of Oliver Warbucks in the musical Annie in 2019.

Hans Kesting
Caleb, Luke, Traylor

Hans Kesting (1960) grew up in Rotterdam and studied at the Maastricht Academy of Dramatic Arts.

In 2015, he received the Van Dalsumring, a prestigious award in the Dutch theatre world that is passed on from actor to actor.

Hans has been performing with the ITA ensemble (formerly Toneelgroep Amsterdam) since 1987. His impressive résumé includes award-winning performances in Angels in America (Louis d’Or, the Dutch theatre award for the most impressive leading male role), Who Killed My Father (Espetáculo de honra Festival de Almada) and Kings of War (Louis d’Or).

Marieke Heebink
Ana

Marieke Heebink (1962) graduated from the Arnhem Drama School in 1988 and worked with various theatre companies throughout the years.

Next to her very solid career in theatre, she also worked as an actor in various film and television productions, such as Bij ons in de Jordaan, Mevrouw de Minister, Gouden Bergen, Moordvrouw and Heer & Meester. She won a Golden Calf for her role in 1000 Roses, a Dutch film directed by Theu Boermans in 1994.

Marieke has been part of the ITA ensemble (formerly Toneelgroep Amsterdam) since 1994. She was awarded a Theo d'Or (the Dutch theatre award for the most impressive leading female role) for her role of Constance Middleton in The Constant Wife (1999) and for her part of Anna in Medea (2015). Other plays include Oedipus, Persona, Kings of War, Roman Tragedies, Death in Venice and many more.

Steven Van Watermeulen
Harold

Steven Van Watermeulen (1968) studied at The Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp and joined Het Zuidelijk Toneel, led by Ivo van Hove, after he graduated. He also worked with NTGent and Ro Theater, where he won a Louis d’Or (the Dutch theatre award for the most impressive leading male role) for his part in De wespenfabriek in 2001.

Next to his extensive career as an actor in the theatre, he has also been working as a director, a curator of exhibitions, author and teacher. He published three books, out of which two were published under pseudonyms, whereas his latest book was published under his own name.

As a teacher, Steven taught drama at The Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp and Toneelacademie Maastricht. He has also been the artistic director of the Theatre Directing study program of the Amsterdam University of the Arts since 2014.

Steven joined the ITA ensemble (formerly Toneelgroep Amsterdam) in season 17/18, and played in Death in Venice, Roman Tragedies, The Cherry Orchard, Freud, The Damned, The Hours and much more.

Bart Slegers
Andy

Bart Slegers (1964) studied at the Royal Flemish Music Conservatory (Acting) in Antwerp where he was taught by Dora van de Groen, Lucas Vandervost, Warre Borgmans, Luc Perceval, Ivo van Hove and others. He is mainly active in the theatre, but also played many roles in television series and films.

He was attached to Het Zuidelijk Toneel for ten years (1990-2000), followed by theatre companies such as De Tijd, Het Paleis, Laika, Noord Nederlands Toneel, Theater van het Oosten and Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest. From 2007 to 2012, he was a member of the Rotheater.

Bart joined the ITA ensemble (formerly Toneelgroep Amsterdam) in season 12/13, after which he had roles in countless productions including Kings of War, Roman Tragedies, The Damned, Freud, The Cherry Orchard, The Fountainhead, Ibsen House and many more.

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About Internationaal Theater Amsterdam

Since the appointment of Ivo van Hove as director in 2001, the ITA ensemble (formerly Toneelgroep Amsterdam) has presented a series of high-profile performances and attracted renowned directors from both home and abroad. In addition to its own location in Amsterdam - Internationaal Theater Amsterdam -  the ensemble plays around 100 stages a year worldwide.

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Festival for the Future

Adelaide Festival is proudly Carbon Neutral and you can help us reduce our impact on the environment further! This year, Adelaide Festival has partnered with Reforest and Trees for Life to support the Mannavale farm bushfire recovery project in Adelaide Hills. 

Plant one for the planet as part of your Adelaide Festival experience. You can learn more about the project, take action and track your impact here. 

Your contribution through Reforest will help repair the damage caused by both bushfires and historical land clearing, and help Trees for Life plant a range of native species to restore an area of forest habitat for native wildlife. 

download the text only program (pdf)