Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – THE DAMNED: Ivo van Hove’s shattering, unfiltered depiction of the rise of the Nazi regime

• By drediman
• July 25, 2018
• No Comments

Adeline Lepoivre and Christophe Montenez in Ivo van Hove’s stage adaptation of “The Damned” at the Park Avenue Armory, co-presented with Comédie-Française.

Last night, I was shocked and awed by in-demand Belgian auteur director Ivo van Hove’s stage adaptation of Luchino Visconti’s 1969 film The Damned. Set in Germany, the piece depicts the terrifying rise of the Nazi regime during the years leading up to World War II, particularly as it relates to big business and industry’s contribution to the occurrence. Also mixed in is a good deal of Shakespearian flourishes, from its depiction of pure evil (Richard III) to wrenching familial disputes (Hamlet) and an unabashed –  almost gleeful – parade of uncensored violent acts (Titus Andronicus). Allegiances are pledged and un-/re-pledged in the labyrinthine path towards the cementing of Hitler’s dominance.

For those of you familiar with Mr. van Hove’s work, his ritualistic, expansive staging of The Damned at the Park Avenue Armory (the production originated at 2016 Festival d’Avignon and was co-produced by Comédie-Française) won’t come as a surprise – he deploys once again many of his usual trademark tricks. Like all of his productions, the staging manages to be at once stripped down to its bare essentials and an excessive spectacle. Unfiltered passions run at a pitch that’s confrontational, bordering on hysterical. He also once again incorporates highly invasive use of live digital filming of his actors, which works well in the Armory’s cavernous drill hall – those in the very last row are still privy to the production’s raw, ridiculously heightened emotions as afforded by the artful cinematic close-ups. Despite the horrors in store for its characters (and the audience), The Damned is a slow-burn; its escalating series of unspeakable events sneak up on you, and the cumulative impact is shattering.

The acting across the board is appropriately intense and fearless; the play asks its cast (some of them merely children) to go to some mighty dark, uncomfortable, and painful places. Impressive stuff all this, although I did have some trouble following along as the English supertitles (the show is performed in French) were relatively small and hard to decipher – and I was seated not that far back. Nitpicking aside, I believe that with this run of The Damned, Mr. van Hove has found a premise and venue to match his aesthetic’s operatic expressiveness (this is not always the case). He’s slated to direct an upcoming Broadway revival of West Side Story, but perhaps he’s more well suited to reinvent Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd? That’d be harrowing, I bet.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

THE DAMNED
Off-Broadway, Play
Park Avenue Armory, in a co-production with Comédie-Française
2 hours, 10 minutes (without an intermission)
Through July 28