Florian Myjer and Abke Haring are catapulting Brideshead Revisited into the 21 st century. Toneelhuis and De Warme Winkel present the Belgian premiere of the classic English novel by Evelyn Waugh (1945).
Whereas in the last century this masterpiece enjoyed cult status among queers as well as conservatives, these days it seems consigned to oblivion – even though it is perhaps the most romantic and Anglophile novel of all times. Evelyn Waugh's secretly autobiographical Brideshead Revisited (1945) tells the story of Charles Ryder, who as a young student at Oxford in the early 1900s falls under the spell of the aristocratic Flyte family. For one sultry summer, he luxuriates in their opulent life at the paradisiacal family estate, falling in love with both the son, Sebastian, and the daughter, Julia.
But with the end of summer and the rise of fascism, adult life presents itself. However much Charles would have liked it to, the freedom of those golden August days will not return. What had seemed like the prelude to a radically honest and liberal life turns out to be the beginning of a hopeless and cynical existence.
For Evelyn Waugh, mired in a bitter worldview, writing this novel was an attempt to recover the happiness of his younger years. Inspired by this self-analysis, De Warme Winkel uses Brideshead Revisited as a vehicle for an autopsy of love and an unfolding of our (sexual) identity. With live music composed by Rik Elstgeest and the memories and fantasies of Florian and Abke as the beating heart, they bring to life the epic love story Waugh so longed for.
Brideshead Revisited was made for (and with) the Holland Festival 2023. It ran for a month in the main hall of De Sloot, a breeding ground for theatre in Amsterdam. The twenty performances were sold out in no time, and De Warme Winkel soon received requests about bringing the show back again.
Together with Toneelhuis, De Warme Winkel is turning its site-specific version of Brideshead Revisited into a traveling production for the large stage. The set is being adapted so that the show will have just as much impact as it did in De Sloot.
But with the end of summer and the rise of fascism, adult life presents itself. However much Charles would have liked it to, the freedom of those golden August days will not return. What had seemed like the prelude to a radically honest and liberal life turns out to be the beginning of a hopeless and cynical existence.
For Evelyn Waugh, mired in a bitter worldview, writing this novel was an attempt to recover the happiness of his younger years. Inspired by this self-analysis, De Warme Winkel uses Brideshead Revisited as a vehicle for an autopsy of love and an unfolding of our (sexual) identity. With live music composed by Rik Elstgeest and the memories and fantasies of Florian and Abke as the beating heart, they bring to life the epic love story Waugh so longed for.
Brideshead Revisited was made for (and with) the Holland Festival 2023. It ran for a month in the main hall of De Sloot, a breeding ground for theatre in Amsterdam. The twenty performances were sold out in no time, and De Warme Winkel soon received requests about bringing the show back again.
Together with Toneelhuis, De Warme Winkel is turning its site-specific version of Brideshead Revisited into a traveling production for the large stage. The set is being adapted so that the show will have just as much impact as it did in De Sloot.
A shimmering dialogue about love.
"Brideshead Revisited reveals itself to be a generous and highly vulnerable portrait of two people constantly navigating between shame and hope."
"While Brideshead Revisited is certainly no Waugh adaptation, Myjer and Haring have taken a literary classic and riffed on it freely, in a warm, vulnerable way. The Holland Festival may have been intended to bring the world to Dutch stages, but it’s good to see some Dutch artists join the party and claim the spotlight, too."
"In a heartbreaking fashion, the creators make the toxic and enduring influence of (internalised) homophobia palpable."
"And then suddenly the show ends, a special ending, indeed, but without having met the expectations that were raised. So, you’re left with a longing for more, and as you walk out, you realize that this goes perfectly with the show."
"Witty and vulnerable dialogues about sensuality and (queer) identity."
concept, text, play
- Florian Myjer & Abke Haring
director
- Ward Weemhoff
scenography
- Scott Robin Jun
sound design and composition
- Rik Elstgeest
harp
- Liesbeth Vreeburg
costumes
- Daphne De Winkel
production
- De Warme Winkel
coproduction
- Holland Festival
coproduction large theatre adaptation
- Toneelhuis
with the support of
- Ammodo
