THE FOUNTAINHEAD

About the show

The Fountainhead is the fascinating portrait of the brilliant young architect Howard Roark, who follows his calling and sets himself up against those who spinelessly parrot the views of others; of Peter Keating, a fellow architect who sells his soul for commercial success and public esteem; of Guy Francon, a traditionalist who uncritically copies architecture from the past; and of the intellectual Ellsworth Toohey, who manipulates public opinion while slyly grooming the masses for a socialist takeover. ‘The theme of my novel', said Ayn Rand, 'is the struggle between individualism and collectivism, not in the political arena but in the human soul. My aim in writing The Fountainhead was always to present a novel whose protagonist embodies the ideal man.’ That man is Howard Roark, a creative artist who, like a sun, is surrounded by less talented and easily influenced characters who envy him his genius and vocation. But equally, The Fountainhead is the story of the struggle between two lovers: between Roark and the beautiful, idealistic and uncompromising Dominique Francon – two likeminded spirits determined never to sacrifice their own liberty or autonomy. Some were looking forward to it and some were skeptical: Ivo van Hove would be staging Ayn Rand’s controversial novel of ideas The Fountainhead. Should this provocative story written by the inspiration of right-wing America be staged at all? At the premiere at the Holland Festival in 2014, both the audience and the press were lost for superlatives to express what they saw.