The Seasons – Holland Festival

Where do you find hope in an upside-down world? De seizoenen is a theatrical marathon based on Ali Smith’s novels Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer. In her vibrant seasonal quartet, the Scottish author interweaves societal changes with intimate personal stories. Director Eric de Vroedt will bring her poetic language to life in a seven-hour theatrical experience at ITA.

In the run-up to the Holland Festival, Eric de Vroedt will work with the actors (including Theo d’Or winner Mariana Aparicio) and artistic team on parts of the novel series, presenting their progress at the transition into the next season. De Vroedt typically rehearses for two to three months, which makes this approach unique. The director has previously appeared at the Holland Festival twice with The Nation in 2017 and 2022.

Ali Smith (Scotland, 1962) links personal stories to social themes like the refugee crisis, the rise of the far-right, and poverty. Each novel captures the essence of its respective season while touching on pressing issues like Brexit, immigration and the global pandemic. This ambitious project was praised for both its topicality and relevance. De seizoenen is a relatable and moving experience, even without having read the books.

'Ali Smith wanted to write four books about our changing climate, which she titled after the four seasons. When she started in 2016, the Brexit referendum shook her country, and the cycle she wrote dazzlingly links both subjects. Nature, Brexit, art, refugee crises: everything comes together in these four novels. We follow exceptional characters who meet in unexpected, but plausible ways, become friends and continue to support each other throughout their lives.'

– Eric de Vroedt

12:30 - 1:55 pm Autumn

1:55 - 2:25 pm intermission

2:25 - 3:50 pm Winter

3:50 - 5:00 pm intermission

5:00 - 6:05 pm Spring

6:05 - 6:20 pm short intermission in the room

6:20 - 7:35 pm Summer

In 2016, Scottish author Ali Smith wanted to write four novels about the changing climate. But when she started, the Brexit referendum shook her country. She wrote four insightful, poetic books about the current social and political turbulence: fake news, the climate, refugee crises, Covid-19 and Trump. In the midst of all this chaos, she drew hope from intimate stories, art, nature and activism. We follow seventeen quirky characters who meet wholly unexpectedly, become friends and changes each other’s’ lives forever. De seizoenen is a breathtaking theatre trip full of heartwarming friendships, forgotten artists and inspiring resistance, set against the backdrop of a changing natural world.

The story

Autumn

England, 2016. In a care home, the thirty-something Elisabeth looks back on her lifelong friendship with the over one hundred year old songwriter Daniel. In their mind, they go on an epic journey through time, past early memories, old loves, feminist pop art, war and popular music.

Winter

England, December 2016. Sophia has invited her son Art and his girlfriend for a Christmas dinner. But Art’s relationship has reached its end, so he hires an unknown woman to play his girlfriend. Panicking, he also invites his activist aunt Iris, though she and her younger sister have been at odds for thirty years already. All the ingredients are there for a Christmas like never before.

Spring

England, 2018. Filmmaker Richard is standing on an empty platform in northern Scotland. The death of his best friend has taken a toll on him, and he wants to leave his life behind here. That same day, a magical twelve-year-old girl walks into the heavily guarded detention centre for rejected asylum seekers. She turns things upside down and together with Britt, a staff member of the detention centre, travels to the exact same station in northern Scotland.

Summer

England, 2020. The first reports of a new, deadly virus are coming in. Sacha and her thirteen-year-old brother are constantly clashing. While Robert is prone to make radical-rightwing, racist statements, Sacha is concerned with the homeless and climate. In the summer of 1940, Daniel Gluck winds up in a British internment camp as an unwelcome foreign national, while his sister Hannah is in occupied France fighting for her life.

Four Female Artists

Art plays a major role in Ali Smith’s seasonal quartet. To emphasize this, each novel shines a spotlight on a different female visual artist. Pop artist Pauline Boty (Autumn), sculptor Barbara Hepworth (Winter), conceptual artist Tacita Dean (Spring), and filmmaker Lorenza Mazzetti (Summer). These artists and their work influence the four novels both thematically and formally.

Pauline Boty (1938–1966) was one of the founders and the only female member of the British Pop Art movement of the 1960s. She created many collages—often featuring people she admired, particularly Marilyn Monroe—in which she celebrated female sexuality and openly critiqued the male-dominated world she lived in.

Autumn itself takes the shape of a collage: it feels as if different narrative fragments have been cut apart and reassembled into a new whole. In Autumn, Daniel Gluck recounts his encounter with Pauline Boty.

Barbara Hepworth (1903–1975) was one of the most important sculptors in modern art and one of the few female artists of her time to achieve international recognition. Through her sculptures, Hepworth sought to “capture” space, which she did by carving holes into her rounded forms. Another recurring theme in her work is motherhood.

In Autumn, Winter, and Summer, Daniel Gluck owns a sculpture by Barbara Hepworth, a study for Mother and Child, which plays a key role throughout the quartet.

Tacita Dean (born 1965) is a British conceptual artist known for her poetic films and monumental chalk drawings. She emphasizes the importance of craftsmanship and slowness in a fast-paced digital visual culture.

In Spring, Richard Lease visits an exhibition by Tacita Dean, who happens to be his friend Paddy’s favorite artist.

Lorenza Mazzetti (1927–2020) was an Italian filmmaker, writer, and artist. She grew up as a foster child in the family of Albert Einstein’s cousin, Robert. In 1944, the Einstein family was murdered by the Nazis in Tuscany. Lorenza and her twin sister Paola survived. She later travelled alone to London, where her remarkable career began as a pioneer of the Free Cinema movement.

In Summer, Mazzetti’s wartime story echoes that of Daniel’s sister Hannah, and is also connected to Albert Einstein, who served as a key source of inspiration for Robert Greenlaw.

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'Sparkles on the square inch' - interview with Eric de Vroedt

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Credits

based on the books by Ali Smith (Herfst, Winter, Lente en Zomer) translation Karina van Santen, Martine Vosmaer adaptation Eric de Vroedt direction Eric de Vroedt acting Mariana Aparicio, Nur Dabagh, Hein van der Heijden, Antoinette Jelgersma, Esther Scheldwacht, Betty Schuurman, Joris Smit, June Yanez music Florentijn Boddendijk, Remco de Jong scenography Julian Maiwald, Léa Thomas (stage) lighting design Julian Maiwald, Léa Thomas (stage) costumes Lotte Goos video design Lennert Esser dramaturgy Willemijn Barelds, Remco van Rijn direction assistance Chyramain van Kempen, Nona Wallerbosch context programme Lotte De Leeuw, Laura van Zuijlen, Rehana Ganga, Mark Kalsbeek, Iselin Van Duuren production Rodney Verhoeven, Brechje Weerd, Marieke Koopman, Hans Tetteroo technology Iain Hoeffnagel, Ivo Pas, Lennert Esser, Koen Veldman, Jari van Winsen, Robbert Weinen, Charlie Smeets, Mathieu Abbink, Demi Kortekaas, Luc Huisman, Wil Caspers, Aya Dupont 1st stage manager Jan Harm Wagner costume department Iris Elströdt (head), Stef Krull, Amanda van Marion, Marijne Addink hair and makeup Bärbel Scheid, Kimberly Kat, Esther van der Drift wardrobe Kiswati van Keulen, Peter-Jan van der Meer scenery department Ruud Brouwer, Maite Kragl, Mick Krispijn, Ron van Rijn, Jelle Krug tour planner Joost de Kleine Beek accessibility HNTonbeperkt bookclub Martijn Westerop marketing Laura Reijnders coproduction Holland Festival, Het Nationale Theater with thanks to Frieda Barnhard, Hanneke Hansen, Kristina Bitenc, Roel Swanenberg, Erna van den Berg, Wessel Padberg, Laura van Zuijlen, Iselin Van Duuren, Gert van Elderen, Marco Alibux, Wilma Heerings, Oogwereld Torica, Centraal Orgaan opvang asielzoekers (COA) / azc NO Den Haag images Anne Claire de Breij scene photography Bart Grietens trailer Huub Laurens video's bookclub Mink Pinster

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