Milo Rau at MITsp 2019
The Swiss director and author Milo Rau will be the artist in focus of the 6th International Theatre Festival of São Paulo (MITsp), which takes place between the 14 and the 24 of March, 2019, in several theatres of the city. The festival brings together a significant slice of the contemporary world scene, productions that tilt toward language experimentation, but also prove to be critical of their own time.
In the last ten years, Milo Rau has become one of the most important names in the world theatre, with politically engaged multimedia creations that blur the boundaries between theatre, cinema and documentary. In 2018, COINCIDENCIA supported the American premiere of his film «The Congo Tribunal», also during the MITsp. The project created a trade union organisation to deal with economic crimes in the Congo War context.
During the MITsp 2019, the artist participates in the Plays Festival axis with the works «The Repetition, Histoire(s) du théâtre (I)», which will be presented during the opening ceremony of the festival, «Five Easy Pieces» and «Compassion. The History of the Machine Gun». And in the Critic Views axis, focused on the reflection of issues raised by the shows and by the country’s and the world’s reality, with the «Dialogue between Milo Rau and Wagner Schwartz». Check below for more details about each event:
THE REPETITION. HISTOIRE(S) DU THÉÂTRE (I)
2018 | 1h40min | Rating: 16 years
14/3 at 8pm* | 15/3 at 9pm | 16/3 at 9pm
*(Opening ceremony) / 9pm: play (for guests)
Venue: Ibirapuera Auditorium – Oscar Niemeyer
Synopsis: A case of violence that shocked the city of Liège, in Belgium, in 2012, is recreated by professional and non-professional actors. The young homosexual Ihsane Jarfi, a Belgian of Moroccan descent, was tortured and killed by four men when leaving a party. The construction process of the play included the presence of the interpreters in the assassins’ trial, as well as visits to the prison.
2016 | 1h30min | Rating: 12 years
19/3 at 7pm | 20/3 at 7pm | 21/3 at 7pm
VENUE: Sérgio Cardoso Theatre
Synopsis:
Milo Rau starts from the biography of Marc Dutroux, convicted in 2004 of sexual violence and murder, a case that has become well known in Belgium, to sketch a brief history of that country and reflect on the re(presentation) of human feelings. The cast consists of children and teenagers, currently between 11 and 14 years old, who stage this tragic episode based on testimonies and reconstructions of real stories.
COMPASSION. THE HISTORY OF THE MACHINE GUN
2016 | 1h45min | Rating: 16 years
20/3 at 9pm | 21/3 at 9pm | 22/3 at 9pm
Venue: Sesc Vila Mariana
Synopsis: In Compassion. The History of the Machine Gun, Milo Rau discusses the work of European NGOs in African territory. The play talks about the contradictions and limitations of values such as compassion, humanism and altruism, from a critique of the coloniality vestiges in philanthropic relations between Europe and Africa. This staging is led by actresses Ursina Lardi, born in Switzerland, and Consolate Sipérius, of Burundian origin.
DIALOGUE BETWEEN MILO RAU AND WAGNER SCHWARTZ
16/3 at 7pm
Venue: Sesc Vila Mariana
Milo Rau and the Brazilian performer Wagner Schwartz, who will premiere «A Boba» on the Festival, talk about their work with the participation of theatre critic Kil Abreu and culture journalist Luiz Felipe Reis.
