The Repetition Histoire(s) du théâtre (I)

Theatre

Milo Rau: “What can drama do for the reality?”
Within the time of a play, let’s face squarely the truth in a tragedy.

One night in April of 2012, Ihsane Jarfi, a Muslim gay man, got on a grey car with a group of four young men in front of a gay club at a street corner in Belgium. Two weeks later, his tortured naked body was found in the wilderness…

Based on the appalling murder case, The Repetition Histoire(s) du théâtre (I) is one of Milo Rau’s works in his series of “historical theater” and complies with his Ghent Manifesto, in which he pledges to renovate the traditional theater production model so that the theatrical works do not only depict the real but also make the representation itself real. The play is created by the collaboration of professional and nonprofessional performers. Through the narratives from various perspectives, the dead is resurrected in the drama without bias, pinpointing the core of humanity in the tragedy.

As an audience, please remain calm while making judgment: What kind of concept makes the tragedy repeated in the reality? Should it be attributed to personal lunacy or the social mechanism? How should the justice be safeguard in the conflicts among sentiment, reason and law? With the theatrical form and various Socratic ironies, the truth will eventually be clarified through debates.

Director │ Milo Rau

Milo Rau is currently one of the most sought-after theater and film directors in Europe. Majoring in psychology, he is a journalist, essayist as well as a university lecturer. In 2007, he founded the International Institute of Political Murder, focusing on the multimedia treatment of historical and sociopolitical conflicts along with the re-presentation of historical records and documents. As one of the focuses at the 2018 Festival d'Avignon, The Repetition Histoire(s) du théâtre (I) has won international acclaims and praises since its premiere and has been invited to tour a lot of cities.

Production Team

  • Concept and Director │ Milo Rau
  • TEXT Milo Rau and ensemble
  • Performer │ Sara Bosschere, Suzy Cocco, Tom Adjibi, Fabian Leenders, Sébastien Foucault, Sabri Saad el Hamus
  • Research and Dramaturg │ Eva-Maria Bertschy
  • Stage and Costume Design │ Anton Lukas
  • Video │ Maxime Jennes and Dimitri Petrovic
  • Light Design │ Jurgen Kolb
  • Sound Design and Technical Director │ Jens Baudisch
  • Production management │ Mascha Euchner-Martinez, Eva-Karen Tittmann

Technical team on tour

  • Camera │ Maxime Jennes
  • Light │ Sylvain Faye
  • Sound │ Jens Baudisch
  • Subtitels │ François Paxxo

SUPPORTED BY the Capital Cultural Fund Berlin, Pro Helvetia, Ernst Göhner Stiftung and Kulturförderung Kanton St.Gallen

  • Duration: approx. 100 minutes without intermission.
  • Performed in French and Flemish with Chinese subtitles.
  • This production contains smoking scenes, and such special effects as flash light and smoke as well as partially nudity scenes and violence subject matter. Audience discretion is advised.
  • The age guidance for this production is 16+.