Trouble

USA / PORTUGAL
New Creation – Music Theatre
“Trouble” de Gus Van Sant

In the 1960s, Andy Warhol sparked a radical shift in the art paradigm, generating a debate about what was truly important in American society. Popular culture became art, turning everyday objects into icons, such as the Campbell soup can.

Film director Gus Van Sant ventures into his first creation for the stage, a musical theater show inspired by Andy Warhol and his overwhelming talent for elevating images into icons, all while achieving worldwide celebrity status as persona and artist.

Gus Van Sant recreates the beginning of Warhol’s career through a fictional narrative built from facts and memories, but also from imagination.

Actress Edie Sedgwick, who died prematurely, North-American writer Truman Capote and musician Lou Reed are some of the characters played by teenagers and young actors who, by taking on a different age, experiment with identities against the backdrop of Pop Art’s birth.

In “Trouble”, Gus Van Sant’s sensitivity, closeness and charisma rekindle our belief in being together and forming a collective or a movement strong enough to change the world.

Text and direction: Gus Van Sant
Music and lyrics: Gus Van Sant
With: Carolina Amaral, Diogo Fernandes, Francisco Monteiro, Helena Caldeira, João Gouveia, Lucas Dutra, Martim Martins, Miguel Amorim, Valdemar Brito
Artistic collaboration and dramaturgy: John Romão
Musical direction: Paulo Furtado / The Legendary Tigerman
Vocal direction: João Henriques
Set design: José Capela
Costumes: Joyce Doret
Light design: Rui Monteiro
Sound design: João Neves
Choreographic collaboration: Sónia Batista
Assistance direction: Teresa Coutinho
Translation and subtitles operation: Joana Frazão
Stage manager: Inês Carvalho e Lemos
Technical director: Gi Carvalho
Executive production: Francisca Aires
Production: BoCA
Co-production: National Theatre D. Maria II (Lisbon), deSingel (Antwerp), Festival Romaeuropa (Rome), Onassis Foundation (Athens), Kampnagel (Hamburg), Théâtre de la Cité – CDN Toulouse Occitanie, Teatro Calderón
Supports: Suspenso, Teatro Thalia

“Trouble” is a commissioned project by BoCA Biennial of Contemporary Arts 2021