The Great Yes, The Great No

by William Kentridge

In 1941, a passenger ship departs from Marseille and sets course for Martinique. Onboard are renowned artists and intellectuals fleeing the Vichy regime in France, along with Captain Charon, the ferryman of the underworld.

This sea voyage will open the 2025 Bergen International Festival. William Kentridge’s The Great Yes, The Great No is part theatre, part Greek chorus, and part chamber opera—all enveloped and tied together by the South African artist’s surreal, poetic expression.

History blends with fiction, and other famous figures also appear on the passenger list to join this new ark. With actors, dancers, a choir, large masks, and a band on stage, the performance pulls you into a unique universe filled with a wealth of musical and visual inspirations.

William Kentridge is the 2025 Festival’s artist-in-residence and has been central to the international art scene for more than three decades. He is known for working across disciplines, combining drawing, text, sculpture, film, theatre, opera, and music. Equally at home when working on stage as in the gallery space and for the screen, and the South African has directed numerous opera and theatre productions. His works are rooted in politics, science, literature, and history, and this is the first time his large-scale productions will be staged in Norway.

Photos: Stella Olivier / Monika Rittershaus

Venue

Grieghallen

Contributors

• William Kentridge concept, director

• Nhlanhla Mahlangu, Phala O Phala associate director

• Nhlanhla Mahlangu choral composer

• Tlale Makhene music director

• Mwenya Kabwe dramaturgy

• Greta Goiris costume design

• Sabine Theunissen set design

• Urs Schönebaum, Elena Gui lighting design

• Gavan Eckhart sound design

• Žana Marović, Janus Fouché, Joshua Trappler projection editing, compositing

• Duško Marović cinematography

• Kim Gunning video control

• Nathan Koci musical arrangements

• Xolisile Bongwana, Hamilton Dhlamini, William Harding, Tony Miyambo, Nancy Nkusi, Luc de Wit cast

• Thulani Chauke, Teresa Phuti Mojela dancers, choreographers

• Anathi Conjwa, Asanda Hanabe, Zandile Hlatshwayo, Khokho Madlala, Nokuthula Magubane, Mapule Moloi, Nomathamsanqa Ngoma chorus

• Marika Hughes cello

• Nathan Koci accordion, banjo

• Tlale Makhene percussion

• Thandi Ntuli piano

Produced by

Produced by THE OFFICE performing arts + film
A project of the Centre for the Less Good Idea
Toured in partnership with Quaternaire

Lead commissioner LUMA Foundation, Arles FRANCE
Co-commissioners Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, Miami-Dade County USA with lead sponsor support from Adrienne Arsht, CAL Performances, Berkeley USA, Centre D’art Battat, Montreal CA, The Wallis Center for the Performing Arts, Beverly Hills, USA

Foundational commissioning support for the development and creation of The Great Yes, The Great No is provided by Brown Arts Institute at Brown University, USA


The Great Yes, The Great No acknowledges the kind assistance of Goodman Gallery, Lia Rumma Gallery and Hauser & Wirth in this project, and generous support from The Roy Cockrum Foundation.

Co-producers: Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, LU, Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen, GE

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