Very much in-demand to direct work in English both here and on Broadway, Ivo van
Hove is of course also still running Toneelgroep Amsterdam, and bringing over
Dutch-language work to a niche - but not quite as niche as it was a couple of years
ago - audience. For the weekend of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, I
didn't manage to fit in the Globe's film series along the South Bank, but my own way
of marking the event is van Hove's 4-and-a-half hour compression of the History
Cycle - beginning at the end of
Henry IV Part 2 with the death of that king,
then following on through
Henry V, the
Henry VI plays and
Richard
III - collected as
Kings of War. Henry V (Ramsey Nasr) distracts England
from his line's dubious claim to the throne with a successful offensive in France,
but like the king himself the victory is short-lived: His son takes the crown when
less than a year old, and even as an adult Henry VI (Eelco Smits) is plagued by
mental illness and unable to control his lords.
