Eline Arbo / Internationaal Theater Amsterdam

In September 2023, the Norwegian Eline Arbo took over the reins from Ivo van Hove as Artistic Director of Internationaal Theater Amsterdam. After staging her adaptation of the novel The Hours at DE SINGEL in summer 2025, she returns with a play based on one of her favourite books: the timeless classic Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin. In Arbo’s hands, it is transformed into a musical performance about love, identity and the fear of being yourself.

In Giovanni’s Room the American David dredges up memories from his time in Paris. It is the city of expats, liaisons and violence. David is waiting there for the return of his fiancée Hella. But when he meets Giovanni, the two men become embroiled in an intense affair. After three months, David’s fiancée returns, and he must make a choice. Both the book and the piece explore themes including sexuality, internalised homophobia and social pressure, and pose the question: can you feel at home somewhere if you are not allowed to be yourself? It is a poignant tale of passion, loss, and the struggle between intense desire and societal expectations. An unparalleled, contemporary encounter between the histories of theatre and literature.

Technical trigger: This performance contains intense lighting effects, including strobe lights.