“Astonishing...Despite Mr. van Hove’s directorial relish for sweaty melodrama, which the cast delivers with gusto, flames burn cold in 'The Damned.' I mean cold enough to keep you shivering from beginning to end...The political attitudes of the characters, embodied with unnerving intensity and discipline by the cast, cover a range of viewpoints...This rich and merciless production makes it clear that they are indeed damned for all eternity."
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“Methodically terrifying...Despite the magnetic pull of that screen, the production is at its most visceral when its merciless images play out in the bodies of its actors...There’s no petty attempt at audience-shaming, no finger wagging or spurious call to action. Instead, van Hove and his undaunted ensemble simply require that we look, long and hard, without blinking. Here we are, their story tells us. Again."
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“Intriguing but enervating...While it’s easy to admire the ambition of ‘The Damned’, it’s difficult to hail it a complete success. The material is enigmatic to begin with and the adaptation can be confusing...Despite all of the violence, perversity and screaming, the show’s emotional wallop is surprisingly muted. Instead of sending shivers and unsettling, the show numbs...Still, the involvement of Comédie-Française...and van Hove makes this a must for theater lovers."
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"It's a powerful, unfortunately timely tale whose impact should be momentous. Instead, the Comedie-Francaise production directed by acclaimed avant-garde director Ivo van Hove diffuses the story's emotional impact by relentlessly calling attention to its cleverness. The most obvious example of the production's self-consciousness is its extensive emphasis on video projections, a theatrical device that, even as it has vastly improved technologically, has by now become a shopworn cliche."
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"Greed, sex addiction, blackmail and craven excuses for Nazis…nope, no relevance to see here!...Neither the screenplay nor van Hove’s chic, mediated staging deepen our understanding of why Martin is so maladjusted...As usual, the design is impeccable, and you leave with images seared into memory...To me, respect and faint exasperation are perfectly sane dual responses to this polished global brand."
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“While I have consistently found van Hove’s aesthetic to be overblown, overindulgent, pretentious and bewildering, others have praised it as visionary, freethinking and electrifying. Those who like his work (or have yet to make up their minds) can check out his latest production...Eerie background music accompanies a lot of disturbing imagery...After the first 10 minutes, one can sense the audience divide into those who love it and those who hate it...Which side will you be on?”
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"Breathtaking...The story churns forward with the brutal efficiency of an assembly line under Van Hove's unrelenting direction...The performances are crucial in selling Van Hove's most arresting moments, and this cast wholeheartedly rises to the task...Van Hove has staged a nightmare from the darkest recesses of humanity about the obscene madness that can result from so-called rational self-interest."
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"van Hove remakes ‘The Damned’ as a cunningly constructed endgame in which the ruthless pursuit of power inevitably ends in a pile of ashes...The staging is so sleek as to occasionally be confusing; if you haven't seen the film...An epic portrait of moral collapse...The uniformly excellent cast invests these dark and morally bankrupt doings with a reality that makes them impossible to dismiss. "
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