Controversial director Milo Rau brings his most challenging work to date to NYU Skirball with the North American premiere of Five Easy Pieces.
Seven young children enact the true story of Belgian serial killer Marc Dutroux. Exploring a crime that changed a nation, this award-winning play challenges audiences to confront fundamental questions: How can children understand the significance of narrative, empathy, loss, subjection, old age, disappointment, or rebellion? How do we react if we see them acting out scenes of violence or love and romance? What does that say about our own fears and desires?
Created by Milo Rau in collaboration with International Institute of Political Murder (IIPM)and CAMPO Arts Centre from Ghent. Performed in Flemish, with English supertitles. Recommended for ages 16+.
Five Easy Pieces is a New York Times Critic’s pick!
“Ingenious…”, “stunning…”, “thrilling…”! Read the full review at The New York Times.
Is Milo Rau really the most controversial director in the world?
The New York Times considers just this question in an in-depth profile of the director and his headline-grabbing body of work.
In January, The New York Times also named Milo Rau one of “seven adventurous theater directors” following in Ivo van Hove’s “arresting footsteps.”
Lyn Gardner writes in The Guardian that “Five Easy Pieces is a reasoned, highly Brechtian piece of theatre and the very opposite of sensational. …I found myself not only moved but also laughing out loud quite a lot.”
Five Easy Pieces was a festival favorite across Europe. Accolades include:
Prix de la Critique: Théâtre & Danse 2016, Special Jury Prize for MiloRau
Berliner Festspiele: Theatertreffen 2017 Selection; winner of the 3sat-Prize
Premio Ubu: 2017 Award for Best Foreign Performance in Italy
Theater Heute: 2017 Award for Best Production & Best Dramaturg
Mess Festival, Sarajevo: 2017 Grand Prixl; Best Performance; Best Director; Audience Award for Best Performance; MESS Critics Award
Milo Rau, a Swiss theater and film director, journalist, essayist, and lecturer, founded the theater and film production company International Institute of Political Murder (IIPM) which he has been running ever since. His productions, campaigns and films have been invited to some of the biggest national and international festivals. The Belgian newspaper La Libre Belgique recently named him “one of Europe’s most sought-after directors” with the German weekly Der Freitag describing him “as the most controversial theatre director of his generation.” campo.nu internatinal-institute.de
This project is supported by the General Delegation of the Government of Flanders to the USA and the Goethe Institut in New York.
