Simon Stone / Internationaal Theater Amsterdam
| By: | Eurípides |
| Written and directed by: | Simon Stone |
| Performers: | Evgenia Brendes, Fred Goessens, Aus Greidanus Jr., Marieke Heebink, Eva Heijnen and Bart Slegers |
| Children: | Faas Jonkers and Poema Kitseroo |
| Translation: | Vera Hoogstad and Peter van Kraaij |
| Writing: | Peter van Kraaij |
| Set design: | Bob Cousinsn |
| Lighting design: | Bernie van Velzen |
| Sound: | Stefan Gregor |
| Costume: | An D’Huys |
| Producer: | Joost and Marcelle Kuiper |
| Medea enjoys the support of Fonds 21 | |
“Passionate, humble, whimsical, disconcerting, sincere, harrowing”.Trouw ****
At 33 years old, Simon Stone has become one of the most valued directors on the international stage. His adaptation of Federico García Lorca’s Yerma, starring Billie Piper, was one of the West End hits in 2016, leading to the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Revival, and making the jump from the Young Vic to the competitive New York line-ups. This harrowing production was a magnificent example of how this creator, born in Switzerland and raised between Europe and Australia, is able to tackle classic texts (he is passionate about Ibsen, for example) and breathe new life into them, whilst being faithful to their spirit but not their words. “I don’t think that the public sees me as an intense director. I think that the audience connects with me because I propose that they see works and that they talk about them and I tell them, what happens is a very old story but in reality it’s about you”, he explained to the Financial Times.
Stone started his career in Melbourne, where he founded his independent company The Hayloft Project, with which he dazzled with modern versions of Chèjov and Wedekind. He also took Woody Allen’s Husbands and Wives to the stage. His success led him to become the resident director of the Belvoir Theatre in Sydney. In parallel, on the big screen he has directed stars such as Oscar award winning Geoffrey Rush, Sam Neil and Miranda Otto, who he collaborated with in The Daughter, a version of Ibsen’s The Wild Duck, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2016.
The production that brings this forward-thinking creator to the Autumn Festival for the first time is Medea, which Stone created for Ivo Van Hove’s prestigious company Internationaal Theater Amsterdam (previously known as Toneelgroep Amsterdam). This modern version of Euripides tragedy premiered in 2014 in the Dutch capital to the enthusiasm of international critics. Stone was inspired by an event he read about in the press to bring a Greek myth to the present day: the case of Debora Green, a doctor who, in 1995, after a turbulent divorce, set fire to her house with her two children inside. In doing this, the director and playwright addresses the same tragic issues as Euripides, but in a contemporary story. Furthermore, Stone works with his actors for a very long time during the writing process so as to use their skills and incorporate them into the characters and gain authenticity. After its run at the Teatros del Canal within the framework of the Autumn Festival, Medea will take to the Barbican Centre in London.