Aktuell
From Rammstein to Pelicot: Milo Rau stages the big trials of our time
On 16 May 2025, Milo Rau declared the REPUBLIC OF LOVE – Rau’s second edition of the Vienna Festival – in front of 48,000 people. As part of Europe’s largest crossover festival, over 100 theater plays, concerts, and events have taken place so far, including new works by Laurie Anderson, Tiago Rodrigues, or Carolina Bianchi.
Among them were two productions staged by Rau himself: the mythical BURGTHEATER by Nobel Prize winner Elfriede Jelinek, banned for 40 years, and Rau’s and Ursina Lardi’s (Silver Lion Winner 2025) THE SEER, which celebrated its Italian premiere yesterday at the Venice Biennale.
For the second half of the Vienna Festival, Rau stages THE CONGRESS OF VIENNA – real-time trials on Art and Abuse, starting today Friday – as well as the all-night reading THE PELICOT TRIAL.
Artistic freedom versus victim protection, the cult of genius versus criticism of power: THE CONGRESS OF VIENNA (13 – 15 June) examines the treatment of art that has been discredited or is suspected of having been created in violent and abusive contexts – including the case of the German band Rammstein.
The entire Congress of Vienna II will be streamed live in German and English on derstandard.at.
THE PELICOT TRIAL (18 June) is undoubtedly the most publicised and discussed, and perhaps also the most symbolic, trial of our time. Almost like a sociological study, it shows that perfectly ordinary men are capable of one of the most extreme crimes of all: the repeated rape of an unconscious woman.
With a staged reading of statements and examinations from the trial, interviews and newspaper commentaries, pleas, expert opinions and online chats, the night-long reading THE PELICOT TRIAL pays tribute to Gisèle Pelicot.
In collaboration with the Pelicot family’s lawyers, the court, psychological experts, court reporters, witnesses and feminist groups, dramaturge Servane Dècle and director Milo Rau paint a picture of an entire era.
The reading – produced in collaboration with the Avignon Festival – will be streamed live on festwochen.at.