Marieke Heebink, actress: People in Amsterdam are known for being outspoken. Belgians are very kind. So there was a kind of culture clash. We had to meet. An ensemble is like a working family – you see each other’s flaws. An D’Huys, costume designer: I have been working with Ivo for 20 years. He often has the same people around him – he reminds me of Fassbinder or Fellini. You know each other so well and there is a sensitivity that goes very deep. It’s not just about taste but about its characters. I know very quickly what he thinks of them. Robert Icke, writer-director: There’s something beautiful about how the ensemble has grown together. They are so diligent about not being comfortable. You get depth, richness, bravery, confidence – and you don’t get stale. This is a dream orchestra to conduct. “Productions are like rituals” … Halina Reijn in The Fountainhead. Photo: Tristram Kenton/The Guardian Halina Reijn, actress: When I was 13, I saw one of Ivo’s productions, Lulu, starring Chris Nietvelt. I wrote him a letter asking him to join the company. He never wrote back! It was my dream to join them, but I was also scared when I finally did. It was the biggest company in Amsterdam with the biggest theater stars. The hierarchy changed when Ivo came in – he was a new director and he installed a different dynamic and gave a lot of space to the young actors. Before that it was super-intimidating. Ivo van Hove: An ensemble is a lot of work. It’s not easy and it costs money. We pay the actors every month and we are very loyal to them. Hans Kesting, actor: If you work with the same group of people, there is no mistrust, there is no fear of making mistakes. We work much faster. Ivo made the ensemble a much more professional organization and elevated it to an international touring theater company. Marieke Heebink: The tour is very demanding. Before Covid, almost every two months we were somewhere new – Tokyo, Singapore, New York, London. Four hours of war… Age of Rage. Photo: Jan Versweyveld Ivo van Hove: We go everywhere and we decided to bring our own cook with us. International tours are part of our identity. It is not for nothing that we are now called ITA. Our goal is to make the best theater in the world – that’s why the accountant, the marketing people, the actors are there. Jan Versweyveld, set designer: I love that we have two beautiful houses where we work. One of Amsterdam’s theatres, the Stadsschouwburg, was built at the end of the 19th century. Then we were able to develop a second theater which took 10 years. It’s not an easy space – it’s quite big, quite open. It takes some experience to really get the benefit of it. An D’Huys: With an ensemble, you know the actors’ bodies. I watch how they move. The actor has to live in the suit which has to be like a second skin. We use on-stage video projections so you know the accessories and details. I’m in charge of the makeup, but we like to see little wrinkles and sweat. With Ivo it’s about murder, blood, aggression… I ask: how many liters of blood do we need? We have three spare costumes for each actor but sometimes that’s not enough. A fact… Marieke Heebink and Chris Nietvelt in Roman Tragedies. Photo: Tristram Kenton/The Guardian Halina Reijn: When you do one of the projects that takes several hours you really have a great time! But there’s nothing that compares – I miss it so much now that I’m gone from the ensemble. Performances are about the essence of life – so if you’re dealing with death or love privately, then you go on stage and give your feelings. It’s much deeper than delivering a line. Productions are like rituals or exorcisms. Ivo van Hove: Every director is different and works in a different way. Simon McBurney, for example, uses improvisation. My company was very open when it came here – it’s in their DNA to be that way. “I never think about the audience until the last days before we play” … Ivo van Hove. Photo: Dave Bennett/Getty Images Jan Versweyveld: We always try to dig deep into the material and find a connection with the time and our ideas now. At the beginning of a production we take the ensemble and lead them to the new project. The first time we talk about it, everyone is invited and we do a visual presentation. Marieke Heebink: When we start rehearsals, Jan shows us the set and says to smell it. The first really big production I was in was Roman Tragedies. It wasn’t just a huge stage but an event – ​​the audience sat next to us and ate. Halina Reijn: Ivo has done stage versions of so many films: Antonioni, Visconti, Cassavetes. He always said you don’t need to watch movies. But it is very tempting! And it’s so interesting to see what he does with them. Ivo was one of the first to use video in such a profound way on stage. Video designer Tal Yarden is an absolute genius. It’s a way to go beyond traditional theater expectations. I used a camera on set for Mourning Becomes Electra – Ivo based his idea on Capturing the Friedmans, the gruesome documentary about a family who filmed each other at home. Jan Versweyveld: In the first conceptual phase of a production we decide whether to use video and the design starts from there. I use model boxes: The Fountainhead was practically developed in the model box by placing one piece of paper after another. Ivo is not interested in models – he thinks they limit his imagination. Ivo van Hove: I never think about the audience until the last days before we play. Then I sit back and try to act like them. If you do this from scratch, you can’t be creative because you’re censoring yourself – that’s too strong, too big. I never would have made Age of Rage if I thought about the audience. It’s four hours of war. Deep use of video … Gaite Jansen and Gijs Scholten Van Aschat at After the Rehearsal at Barbican, London, in 2017. Photo: Tristram Kenton/The Guardian Hans Kesting: These are draining productions that demand a lot from you. I played Mark Antony in Roman Tragedies and Richard III in Kings of War. Huge roles. You’re almost in awe when you step on stage. We trust Ivo and where we are going with him. He still has a lot of fire and fury, but has become calmer in his presentation. Good actors work well with him, lesser actors get better with him. Robert Icke: Actors fight each other like family. They are not afraid of each other. You give them the scent and they come out like a pack of wolves on stage. They are always looking for ways to make it more visceral. Halina Reijn: I find acting and everything that comes with it extremely scary and disturbing and disturbing. But Ivo creates a very clear framework within which you can be free. He doesn’t judge any character. He simply holds up a mirror and makes the audience witness his own behavior. Draining … Kings of War at the Barbican in 2016. Photo: Tristram Kenton/The Guardian Robert Icke: I did Oedipus in 2018 with Hans and Marieke. I had written an English script that had been translated – they acted and spoke to each other in Dutch and to me in English. It had the potential to alienate deeply, but I loved it. An D’Huys: Before my first meeting with Ivo, for Othello, I prepared several drawings but it didn’t take more than five minutes. Ivo knows what he wants. Hans Kesting: There is a long monologue, “Friends, Romans, Countrymen,” in Julius Caesar. I thought it would be a long, hard process to rehearse, but we did it in 20 minutes. Antenna. Now we do [Hanya Yanagihara’s novel] A Little Life. I thought: how could you turn this book, with these graphic scenes, into a stage production? Ivo’s idea was to let me play all the villains in the story – I embody the evil. As I get older, when I play a dark character in his plays – and there are a lot of them – I have darker dreams. It does something to you. Robert Icke: One day in Oedipus, Hans said to me in front of everyone, “That’s an okay speech, but I think it would probably be better if it were a great speech!” I said: You’re absolutely right, I’ll give it another go. Their firm goal is to put on another amazing production that can run for 10 years and be one of those shows that goes around the world.