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After the Rehearsal/Persona

Toneelgroep Amsterdam

Two Ingmar Bergman screenplays are reimagined for the stage in a double bill about the chaotic lives of theatre people, exposing the fine line between art and reality, illness and normality.

After the Rehearsal: For Hendrik Vogler, a director obsessed by his work, rehearsals are like notes in his diary, performances his autobiography. Everything is subject to his control yet it soon becomes apparent that life cannot be kept at bay when ex lover Rachel and Anna, her daughter and his current star, breach his sanctum. 
 
Persona: Celebrated actress Elisabeth Vogler falls mute and retreats into silence. It’s as though a short circuit has occurred, calling into question the roles she must play. She is cared for in hospital by nurse Alma who then accompanies her to an island summerhouse in an attempt to coax her into speaking again. Tension between the two builds.

Ivo van Hove counts Bergman among his favourite filmmakers because he shows us ‘in all our inimitable complexity,’ as he directs four actors from his Dutch ensemble on a set that transforms from the sparse to the scenically breathtaking.

Tagged with: Theatre & dance

2 hours 50 mins/including an interval

Age guidance 14+

Performed in Dutch with English surtitles

The Netherlands

Presented by the Barbican

Co-produced by Théâtre de la Place (Liège), Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg and Maison des arts de Créteil

Realised in collaboration with Auteursbureau ALMO bvba commissioned by Josef Weinberger Ltd, London, and the Ingmar Bergman Foundation

After the Rehearsal/Persona is supported by the Performing Arts Fund NL and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Reviews

‘A pair of plays about art, delusion and the ravages of devotion … revelatory … ingenious‘
‘Features deeply emotional and physical performances to match the layered psychological drama of Bergman’s texts‘
Broadway World

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