Romeinse Tragedies Part 1 & 2

The Roman tragedies – Coriolanus, Julius Caesar and Antony & Cleopatra – are William Shakespeare’s most political plays. Unlike his history plays they are not about the desire for power, but the mechanisms of politics and the social context. With no partiality, Shakespeare describes the cause and effect of political structures in a changing society. Three times he shows the success and failure of a politician, looking at their ideals but also at the personal motives that drive them.

Ivo van Hove directs them in two parts spread over two evenings, and in a marathon version lasting six hours. The audience finds itself in the middle of the political arena, where the play is performed nonstop. One can go in and out at will, change places and when one feels like it take a break in a meeting place on the stage, where drinks and snacks are also available. The performance is also shown live on monitors at various places in the theatre. The audience itself chooses where it wants to be and which situation it wants to focus on.