“See the Revolution of the Times”: Ivo van Hove’s Materialist Shakespeare Cycles
2018; Routledge; Volume: 14; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/17450918.2018.1455739
ISSN1745-0926
Autores Tópico(s)Theatre and Performance Studies
ResumoThis review essay examines Flemish theatre director Ivo van Hove’s history cycles, Roman Tragedies (Coriolanus, Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra) and Kings of War (Henry V, Henry VI Parts 1, 2 and 3 and Richard III), as examples of ways contemporary directors can utilise Shakespeare to present a cultural materialist vision of today’s late capitalist society. The essay provides an overview of van Hove’s theatrical work, a brief trajectory of Shakespeare history cycles, and argues that van Hove’s performative conflation of theatrical audiences with the broader public masses highlights the ways in which apparent public participation in the state is often illusory. Through productions such as these, van Hove reveals himself as an heir to Bertolt Brecht and Jan Kott, who read Shakespeare’s history plays as meditations on the cyclical nature of authoritarian power structures.
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