Apart from the theatre, van Hove directedThuisfront for Dutch television; his first cinematic film,Amsterdam, came out in 2009. Van Hove directed the musicalRent for Joop van den Ende. At the Vlaamse Opera, he staged a production ofAlban Berg's operaLulu, as well as the completeRing Cycle byRichard Wagner (2006–08). He put on a production of Janáček'sDe Zaak Makropoulos, and Tchaikovsky'sIolanta for the De Nederlandse Opera in Amsterdam. From 1998 until 2004, van Hove was festival manager of the Holland Festival, where he presented an annual selection of international theatre, music, opera and dance.
In 2015, van Hove made his Broadway debut with a production of Arthur Miller'sA View from the Bridge, which won Tony Awards for Best Revival of a Play and Best Direction of a Play. He also directed Broadway productions of Arthur Miller'sThe Crucible (2016), a stage adaptation of the 1976 filmNetwork starringBryan Cranston (2018), and a 2020 revival ofWest Side Story.
In 2023, van Hove was placed on leave as director of Internationaal Theater Amsterdam amid allegations that bullying and harassment becoming prevalent throughout the company. A full investigation was commissioned, which concluded in 2024 with Van Hove's permanent departure from the theatre and the resignation of its supervisory board; the report found that a "culture of fear" had become entrenched during Van Hove's leadership.[6]
Van Hove's signature style is an ultra-modernminimalism shot through with anexpressionist theatricality. In an interview withKate Kellaway, he commented
I don’t know what "being faithful to a text" means. There’s not one truth. As a director or actor, you have to give an interpretation of a line. I get 10 different people to say "I love you" – three words, an objective truth – and yet each time it is spoken it is different. I’m known for my preparation. For actors, this is not a threat, it is freedom. I like to create the world in which the text will blossom best.[7]
He has said in numerous interviews[8] that he approves ofBen Brantley's designation of him as a 'maximalist minimalist'.
He is regularly cited as an influence on many of the foremost names in a younger generation of theatre makers, includingSam Gold,Simon Stone andRobert Icke, all of whom he has invited to direct atToneelgroep Amsterdam.[9]
In 2023, the Internationaal Theater Amsterdam (ITA) ended its collaboration with Van Hove following two external investigations. Van Hove was accused of physical and psychological violence and of having contributed to a climate conducive to sexual harassment, verbal harassment and physical violence.[11][12]
1999–2000:Alice in Bed by Susan Sontag (co-production withNew York Theatre Workshop andHolland Festival);De dame met de camelia's (La Dame aux camélias) by Alexandre Dumas
1998–1999:India Song byMarguerite Duras (co-production with Holland Festival)
1997–1998:Romeo en Julia (studie van een verdrinkend lichaam) (Romeo and Juliet: A study of a drowning body) by Peter Verhelst after Shakespeare (co-production with Holland Festival)
1996–1997:Koppen (Faces) by John Cassavetes (co-production with Holland Festival);De onbeminden (Les Mal Aimés) by François Mauriac
Van Hove won twoObie Awards for Best Production of an off-Broadway production in New York (forMore Stately Mansions andHedda Gabler, respectively), as well as the East Flanders Oeuvre Prize (1995), the Theatre Festival Prize (1996), and the Archangel Award at the Edinburgh Festival (1999).
He was made a Knight of theOrdre des Arts et des Lettres in France in 2004. In 2007 he received the Prijs van de Kritiek in the Netherlands, a prize awarded by theatre critics. In 2008, he received the Prosceniumprijs, a Dutch theatre prize, together withJan Versweyveld and in 2012 the Amsterdam Business Oeuvre Award. In 2014, van Hove received an honorary doctorate for general merit of theUniversity of Antwerp.
In 2016 van Hove received The Founders Award for Excellence in Directing and became Honorary Citizen of Ham, Belgium.A View from the Bridge at the Lyceum Theatre was nominated for theDrama Desk Award for Best Revival and Best Director and theOuter Critics Circle Award for Best Director and Best Revival, and won theTony Award for Best Director and Best Revival.The Crucible at the Walter Kerr Theatre was nominated for theOuter Critics Circle Award for Best Revival and theTony Award for Best Revival.Vu du Pont at Théâtre de l'Odéon was nominated for Molières for Best Director and Best Revival.
1998: Herald Angel at the Edinburgh Festival, for More Stately Mansions
1999: Johan Fleerackers Prize for collaboration between Dutch and Flemish theatre; Arch Angel for best direction at the Edinburgh Festival, forIndia Song (afterMarguerite Duras' film,India Song)
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Media related toIvo van Hove at Wikimedia Commons
