DIE ENTHÜLLUNG DES REALEN

(The Revelation of the Real)

MILO RAU UND DAS INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF POLITICAL MURDER

(Milo Rau and the International Institute of Political Murder)

2013 / Theater der Zeit, Berlin

Edited by Rolf Bossart

Time and again, Milo Rau’s plays, films, and performances raise a furore. Accompanied by theoretical, sometimes even violent debates, right through to veritable court trials, they touch on painfully sensitive points of society’s self-conception. They provoke a complex press response, with critics attempting to apprehend the work of the Swiss director in such terms as “lover of scandal” (La Vanguardia), “captor of the real” (taz), “social sculptor” (La Libération), and “theatre reformer” (Der Spiegel).    

Indeed, Milo Rau’s method occupies an exceptional place in current European theatrical work. “The Revelation of the Real” unfolds the aggressive, variable thinking behind Rau’s projects in discussions, manifestos, and essays. These are complemented by contributions from the highly diverse perspectives of, among others, Alexander Kluge, Heinz Bude, Christine Wahl, and Sandra Umathum. This book thus reveals, piece by piece, the New Realism of Milo Rau’s theatre, which incidentally also marks a happy departure from the postmodern. 

“The essays and discussions, with the likes of Alexander Kluge, sociologist Heinz Bude, philosopher Robert Pfaller, and editor Rolf Bossart, as well as reprinted reviews and articles by Rau himself, reflect the impact of his art: it provokes contradiction; that is, it challenges one to think.” (NZZ)