Bitef

MAXIM GORKY

TONEELGROEP, AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS

CHILDREN OF THE SUN

IVO VAN HOVE 180'

The Russian author Maxim Gorky wrote Children of the Sun in 1905, the year of the first Russian revolution. The threat of political chaos is a palpable theme in his play. Gorki introduces an unworldly scientist who is determined to find the 'new man’ and who spends hours discussing a better world with his wife and their friends. In the real world cholera rages and the populace becomes increasingly disgruntled. The Protassovs close their eyes to this grim reality until the situation escalates. Ivo van Hove directs the play as a reflection on the responsibility of intellectuals in contemporary society. The questions posed by Gorky are still relevant today.

Children of the Sun addresses the most important theme in Maxim Gorky's work (1858 - 1936): the yawning gulf between the inexhaustible potential of mankind and the finite life span of the individual. The 'potential of mankind' is a constant theme running through Gorky's work, prominent not only in his plays (including The Lower Depths and Summerfolk) but also in his short stories, novels and memoirs. Together with his contemporary Chekhov, Gorky was considered one of the most influential playwrights at the turn of the 20th century. Ivo van Hove's Children of the Sun is a reflection on the position of the intelligentsia in modern-day society. In a period where the notion of perfecting mankind must almost be taken literally, artists, scientists and philosophers are faced with a challenge that transcends their personal lot in life. A century later, the questions raised in Children of the Sun regarding identity and happiness as a state of consciousness or being are more pertinent than ever.

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