This book offers a wealth of resources, critical overviews and detailed analysis of Ivo van Hove’s internationally acclaimed work as the foremost director of theatre, opera and musicals in our time. Stunning production photos capture the power of van Hove’s directorial vision, his innovative use of theatrical spaces, and the arresting stage images that have made his productions so popular among audiences worldwide over the last 30 years. Van Hove’s own contribution to the book, which includes a foreword, interview and his director’s notes for some of his most popular shows, makes this book a unique resource for students, scholars and for his fans across the different art forms in which he works.

An informative introduction provides an overview of van Hove’s unique approach to directing, while five sections, individually curated by experts in the respective fields of Shakespeare, classical theatre, modern theatre, opera, musicals, film, and international festival curatorship, offer readers a combination of critical insight and short excerpts by van Hove’s collaborators, the actors in the ensemble companies van Hove works with in Amsterdam and New York, and by arts critics and reviewers.