Louis has had a close and fruitful collaboration with theater director, and Det Norske Teatrets current artistic manager, Kjersti Horn for many years. She was the first to take Louis' texts to the stage. It started with The end of Eddy, the novel in which Louis says goodbye to his old life. He left behind his penniless, abusive, alcoholic and racist working-class background and stepped into the middle class, a world where he can breathe more freely and where he can be his true self.
Emil Johnsen in The end of Eddy/Farvel til Eddy Bellegueule, which premiered at the bar Jaeger before finding its way to Scene 3 at Det Norske Teatret.
Preben Hodneland and Emil Johnsen in History of Violence, which premiered at Scene 2 in 2017. In 2022, the performance was shown during the Brandhaarden theatre festival at the Internationaal Theater Amsterdam. Photo: Gisle Bjørneby.
Giving voice to those who are not heard
Through his writing, Louis has given voice to those who are never heard. He has described the lives of those at the bottom in society without romanticizing, and has lifted up lives and destinies that literature may not have given a voice. Kjersti Horn has dramatized several of Louis’ books for the stage. At Det Norske Teatret, in addition to The end of Eddy, she has also staged History of violence, Who killed my father and A Woman's Battles and Transformations. During this year’s festival, she will stage another work by Louis; Change/Forandre seg. metode comes to the Main Stage with actor Emil Johnsen in the lead role.
Theatre can be so incredibly powerful because it forces people to see what they usually avoid, what they have developed strategies to avoid seeing and hearing, even though they know that these things they are trying to avoid exist and are present all around us.
Louis is also to be seen at the festival with his own play. In the performance Qui a tué mon père/Who Killed My Father, Louis himself appears on stage. The dramatization of the novel was staged by Thomas Ostermeier for Schaubühne in 2021, and has since toured major theaters across Europe.
Édouard Louis on stage in Qui a tué mon père/Who killed my father. Photo: Jean Louis Fernandez.
New novel
Édouard Louis has established himself as a prominent author among readers. Now that Louis is returning to Norway, he has just published a new novel. The seventh - and final - book about his family, The Collapse, will be launched in Norway on August 21st at Aschehoug Forlag. It tells about his brother, who had a life full of broken dreams, a brother he both feared and sought security in.
- Through the various novels that make up his family saga, he depicts the ambivalence in his relationship with his family and the working class, but he is most merciless in his disclosure of himself. Louis's writing is indispensable if one is to understand the extent of inequality in Europe today, how these differences affect the individual and sets limits for their lives, says program manager Linn Rottem at Litteraturhuset/House of Litterature in Oslo.
- The novels will stand as one of the most groundbreaking and controversial literary projects of our time.
Both The Collapse and Who killed my father began as works for Litteraturhuset/House of Litterature in Oslo. Composer Sandra Kolstad has made music inspired by these works. In September, there will be another opportunity to experience Louis and Kolstad together at the Litteraturhuset with a new piece they have made together. In addition, Louis will talk about his latest novels Monique Escapes and The Collapse.
– Norwegian readers have flocked to Édouard Louis ever since Aschehoug published The end of Eddy in 2015. The novels about class, violence, homophobia, power and society, all based on the life of the author and his family, will stand as one of the most groundbreaking and controversial literary projects of our time. Louis is read and praised around the world, and has inspired a number of young authors.
The full programme at Litteraturhuset, Aschehoug Forlag and Det Norske Teatret will be announced in August.
MAIN PHOTO Joel Saget / AFP / NTB scanpix