Belgian director Ivo van Hove awarded Critics’ Circle Theatre Award
Ivo van Hove has been elected Best Director of 2014 in London. He was awarded the prestigious British Critics’ Circle Theatre Award for his direction of Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge at the Young Vic. It is unusual for a non-British person to receive this award. The lead actor in the play, Mark Strong, won the award for best actor.
Van Hove’s A View from the Bridge had already been nominated for the Evening Standard Awards at the end of last year, but did not manage to win. But now he has won the prestigious British Critics’ Circle Theatre Award. A View from the Bridge was showered with praise in the British press: “Magnetic, electrifying, astonishingly bold (The Evening Standard), Emotionally devastating. Unforgettable (The Independent), Not to be missed. Outstanding (Times), One of the most powerful productions of a Miller play I have ever seen (The Daily Telegraph), A forceful production of visual brilliance (The Guardian)”. The production also received five stars from newspapers such as The Daily Telegraph, The Evening Standard, The Independent, The Sunday Times, The Times and Time Out. Thanks to its success, the adaptation was put on again in the West End at Wyndham’s Theatre from 10 February to 11 April.
Ivo van Hove is a producer and director from Amsterdam Theatre Group. He has directed, alongside many theatre and opera productions and performances, the TV drama Thuisfront and the feature-length film Amsterdam. His productions could already be seen in theatres all over the word from Melbourne to Paris, Athens to New York. His work also makes regular appearances at big international festivals, such as the Edinburgh International Festival, the Vienna Festival, the Rurhtriennale and the Biennale in Venice.
The Critics’ Circle Theatre Award has been awarded for sixty years to honour the crème de la crème of British theatre. Among those who have been awarded the prize are Richard Burton, Laurence Olivier, Ian McKellen, Benedict Cumberbatch, Vanessa Redgrave, Maggie Smith, Helen Mirren and Rachel Weisz.