__James Norton__ (*Happy Valley*, *Grantchester*) stars in the theatrical event of 2023 as visionary director __Ivo van Hove__ (*Network*, *Hedda Gabler*) stages the English language premiere of *A Little Life*, his acclaimed production of the million-copy bestseller by __Hanya Yanagihara__ (*To Paradise*, Booker Prize Shortlist for *A Little Life*).
The much-anticipated play also stars __Luke Thompson__ (*Bridgerton*, *Hamlet*), __Omari Douglas__ (*It’s A Sin*, *Constellations*), __Zach Wyatt__ (*The Witcher*, *I and You*), __Elliot Cowan__ (*The Crown*, *2:22 A Ghost Story*), __Zubin Varla__ (*Tammy Faye*, *Equus*), __Nathalie Armin__ (*Force Majeure*, *The Doctor*), and __Emilio Doorgasingh__ (*Best of Enemies*, *The Kite Runner*).
A LITTLE LIFE follows four college friends in New York City: aspiring actor Willem, successful architect Malcolm, struggling artist JB, and prodigious lawyer Jude.
As ambition, addiction, and pride threaten to pull the group apart, they always find themselves bound by their love for Jude and the mysteries of his past.
But when those secrets come to light, they finally learn that to know Jude St Francis is to understand the limitless potential of love in the face of life.
__Assisted performances__
Captioned: Wednesday 7th June, 7pm
Audio Described: Wednesday, 31 May 2023, 7pm
BSL: Tuesday 23rd May 2023, 7pm
The nudity is hardly shocking in the mix of it all, and comes so often that we feel inured to the sight of men – mostly Norton – slipping out of their trousers. Where Yanagihara faced some charges of appropriation in her depiction of male friendship and gay desire, that criticism cannot be applied to this adaptation by Koen Tachelet, Van Hove and Yanagihara. The consensual sex, when it comes, does not seem gratuitous.
Van Hove, whose adaptation was created with Yanagihara and Koen Tachelet, offers us an experience that feels closer to the dogged fatalism and catharsis of Greek tragedy. Leaner, nimbler and, with designs by Jan Versweyveld, visually indelible, this stage version liberates the twisted fairytale at the heart of the narrative, becoming more of a fable, more powerfully symbolic and less tangled in extraneous detail and portentous pontificating. It is so harrowing as to be nearly unbearable, yet it rarely wallows. In fact, it is a production of cool temperature, handling atrocity with clinical precision, and moments of grace with an economical elegance.
2022 | Off-Broadway |
BAM Next Wave US Premiere Production Off-Broadway |
2023 | West End |
West End |
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