Two intertwined families, a father and mother with their two children, became the focus of a stark stage ritual at the Conde Duque theater. The scene unfolded with a chilling stillness as a performer, Milo Rau, presented a production that explored a grim true story: a middle‑class French family who, in 2007, left a note saying, “we made too many mistakes” before taking their own lives. Their porch suicide remains an unresolved question. A year later, Rau returned to Madrid’s autumn festival with Antigone, a collaboration between the Ghent National Theatre and Wiener Festwochen, reimagining the ancient tragedy within a modern frame. This Antiquity Trilogy continues with Orestes in Mosul and a forthcoming film, the New Bible. In January 2024, Rau is slated to bring Every Woman to the National Dramatic Center in Madrid, a production rooted in dialogue between two actresses and a terminally ill woman whose final wish is to participate in a play.
Swiss director, playwright, filmmaker and journalist Rau rose to prominence in Spain in 2013 with I Hate Radio, a montage that re-edits broadcasts from a notorious hate channel and pairs them with performances by Tutsi actors. Since establishing the International Institute on Political Murder in 2007, Rau has created more than 50 films, books, exhibitions, performances and theater works. His repertoire includes the Ceaușescu trial, Pussy Riot, the Dutroux case, and coverage of the Congo’s civil war. Described as one of Europe’s leading stage directors, Rau blends artistic work with a political call focused on the structural violence of Western society. Yet his aim is not to flood the stage with activist rhetoric or comfortable guilt for the audience; it is to provoke change, transformation, and a transcendence of conventional theatrical boundaries.
Nothing is more beast than man
In a refreshed reading of Sophocles, Antigone is portrayed by Kay Sara, an Amazon indigenous activist, who appears on screen alongside a Greek chorus of survivors from a massacre in Pará, Brazil, on April 17, 1996, when the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST) marched for agrarian reform. Nineteen people lost their lives as the army opened fire. Rau stages this massacre to illustrate a conflict between traditional wisdom and the fast‑driving forces of global capitalism—a saga of humanity facing a self‑inflicted decline into greed, blindness, and hubris. The production foregrounds the artists’ process, the survivors’ stories, and the question that lingers: there are many monsters, but is there a greater one than humankind? Antigone is framed as a people’s struggle against dictatorship, with Rau describing the work as a manifestation of collective action.
Rau’s past work included a 2018 project that represented Brazil, reconstructing the life and murder of a young man named Ihsane Jarfi in Liège, a tone that combined personal tragedy with a broader social critique. The discussion with Rau and collaborators highlighted the idea that Antigone and the modern era speak to dissent within traditional societies facing the pressures of global capitalism. The project’s thrust is not merely narrative; it is a political act exploring missing people and their buried stories.
Rau’s commitment to the MST extends beyond artistic participation. He describes a decision from the outset: proceeds from the tour would support MST, with contracts that involve not only actors but organizations as well. A campaign, supported by European and American intellectuals, pursued cross‑continental advocacy. Prominent figures like Varoufakis, Angela Davis, Noam Chomsky lent their voices in support, aiding broad awareness of MST’s work. Rau notes that although MST is among the largest rice producers in Latin America, European distribution networks keep products sidelined. This spurred a push to distribute MST’s goods in organic European markets as part of the collaboration.
Discussing the militancy behind Rau’s work, he argues that art should challenge economic and political systems rather than merely reflect them. The aim is to bring about a shift that resonates beyond the stage, with the May and July seasons in Europe serving as platforms for this dialogue. He emphasizes that the MST’s influence makes it essential to raise European awareness and diplomatic support; he recalls introducing MST to the Austrian presidency and to French officials in Avignon. The goal is not only to spotlight their causes but to help them achieve recognition and legitimacy on a global stage. Rau states that this engagement is a responsibility and a contribution to a broader movement for justice on the land distribution front in Brazil.
Rau describes his broader method as combining classical Marxist ideas with identity politics, integrating LGTBI rights and Black Lives Matter into a continuous struggle for land and dignity. The shared aim is to echo a history of colonization that still shapes land ownership today. He believes European activists and artists can learn from MST’s leadership and persistence, a sentiment that underscores the stage’s potential to inform and influence real‑world outcomes. This is not just theater; it is a political practice that aspires to influence policy and perception on both sides of the Atlantic.
Let’s take institutions
Speaking to the paradox of creating critical theater within a system that funds and ultimately absorbs it, Rau invokes Adorno, noting that there is no perfectly just life inside a flawed system. Yet he argues for a strategy that minimizes contradiction, proposing invincible solidarities or resilient groups of people as a practical path forward. The past January announcement named Rau as the artistic director of the Vienna Festival, a role he intends to fulfill for the next five years. He envisions a legendary, massive, and provocative festival that welcomes a broad audience with formal variety, passion and challenge.
In a climate where far‑right influence is rising, Rau asks how far one can push a major festival to remain a space for critique. He acknowledges the risk while maintaining a purpose: to shape a utopian venue that fosters dialogue and renewal. His experience at the Ghent National Theater revealed how hard it is to reform institutions once part of them, yet he remains convinced that this is precisely the moment to question all actions, all stories, and every moral stance. The aim is to build a more inclusive system for producing, presenting, and distributing art, with city theatres and large festivals acting as crucial playing fields for change.