From the start, film was inspired by theatre. You might say that cinema, as we know it, was birthed by theatre. Conversely, new cinematic techniques also rapidly find their way into theatre. To celebrate the meeting of the two genres, Eye invited two theatre makers to develop an exhibition. All About Theatre About Film is open from 3 October onwards and features work by director Ivo van Hove and set designer Jan Versweyveld. Ten facts about the illustrious pair you will want to know.
By Annabel Essink05 October 2021
They have been together since their 20s. They founded the theatre group Akt in 1981 and since then they have developed dozens of plays for various, international theatre companies.
Without rewatching the film, Van Hove and Versweyveld transform the same story into theatre. They are inspired by the following seven directors in particular: Marguerite Duras, Michelangelo Antonioni, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Ingmar Bergman, John Cassavetes, Luchino Visconti and Sidney Lumet.
Specifically that of the audience’s position. For instance, the audience for Koppen (based on John Cassavetes’ Faces) lies on beds.
There are cameras on stage and above it hangs a film screen on which the audience can simultaneously watch the film of the play.
Their works have been performed from Broadway to Taipei and they have won 26 awards, including the Johannes Vermeer Award.
And Jan Versweyveld works there as a set and lead designer.
They chose Mijn lieve gunsteling (My Heavenly Favourite) by Marieke Lukas Rijneveld. This is set to premiere In in 2022 or 2023.
They opted to structure it like a play with three acts.
All About Eve (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1950) and All About My Mother (Pedro Almodóvar, 1999).
You can also watch the films that Van Hove and Versweyveld based their plays on or which inspired them at its cinemas.
