The Hours
The Hours takes place on one day in the lives of three women, at three different moments in the 20th century. One is a book publisher, the other a housewife and the third is the writer Virginia Woolf. All three struggle with the question how to be yourself in a world that is tight like a straitjacket.
Run time 110 minutes
Genre theatre
Language Dutch
Surtitles Thu November 2 & 9
In Gesprek Fri November 3 & 10
This performance contains strobing effects.
The Hours
Under Eline Arbo's direction, Cunningham's loving literary observation becomes visible on stage. She creates a world in which a writer shares space with his characters.
Both the book and the successful film adaptation by Stephen Daldry (with Nicole Kidman and Meryl Streep, among others) have become classics.
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Eline Arbo’s direction of Weg met Eddy Bellegueule by Édouard Louis at Toneelschuur Producties was praised by the press and public. For ITA she previously directed Penthesilea. Since September 2023, Eline Arbo is Artistic Director at ITA.
Eline Arbo about The Hours
"It is an incredibly beautiful story of three women whose lives are inextricably linked. All three struggle with the roles assigned to them and seek their own way of freedom. What I love about the book is how Cunningham manages to combine existential issues with social themes through the parallel storylines. By portraying women from completely different times, questions arise about the level of emancipation today and the role patterns that lie deeply hidden in our culture. At the same time, it is an intimate portrait of three people whose desperate quest for freedom has major consequences for the people in their environment."
REVIEWS
NRC
"Beautifully empathetic (...). The Hours grabs you by the throat."
de Volkskrant
"For example, Arbo provides the existing (classical) material with an extra layer and thus has something essentially new in store for its audience. (…) Remarkable staging"
Theaterkrant (Critic's choice)
"Warm interpretation of human behaviour. (...) Strong performances by the actors."
Parool
"The Hours by Eline Arbo and ITA leaves no one untouched."
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 Hours 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.
PROGRAM BROCHURE
Read more about the production's direction, author, scenography and music in our digital brochure.
BEHIND THE SCENES
Go backstage at the rehearsal process of The Hours and find out how the show is made.
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.
CREDITS
by Michael Cunningham
direction Eline Arbo
translation Servaas Goddijn
adaptation Eline Arbo, Peter van Kraaij, Bart Van den Eynde
dramaturgy Bart Van den Eynde
scenography Pascal Leboucq
lighting design Varja Klosse
sound design Thijs van Vuure
costumes Wojciech Dziedzic
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private producer Jeroen van Ingen en Jaap Kooijman