A Little Life – Adelaide Festival

No other novel in recent memory has captivated and moved millions of readers quite like Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life. No other director in recent memory has created unique theatre experiences quite like Ivo van Hove.

Working with International Theatre Amsterdam (formerly Toneelgroep Amsterdam), van Hove is renowned for his epic productions and Adelaide Festival audiences will remember two of his finest – the celebrated Shakespeare cycles Roman Tragedies and Kings of War.

The gripping narrative tracks the deeply intertwined lives of four men over a period of more than 30 years – there’s actor Willem, visual artist JB, architect Malcolm and Jude, a lawyer with a past shrouded in mystery. Tightly bound together by their close friendship, they grapple with the influence of Jude’s traumatic history on their lives. But how do you help someone who doesn’t want to be helped?

Celebrated from Amsterdam to New York, most recently at the Edinburgh International Festival, A Little Life interrogates the interplay between past and present, friendship and desire, care and harm with poignancy and precision. It’s a timeless story of a man haunted by his history.

With compelling storytelling and shattering performances, this production breathes life into one of the most impressive and moving literary works of the past decade.