Theatre play

Seven children are sitting throughout the room. They are between the ages of 9 and 14, and they are allowed to select their roles. »Theatre is pretending as though you are old even though you are young«, says one child, »theatre is like puppet theatre, but with people«. A theatre piece is rehearsed in which the life of the Belgian child murderer Marc Dutroux is re-enacted. In 2004, he was sentenced to life in prison.

The play »Five easy pieces« highlights crimes that are abstracted with the aesthetics of documentary theatre. The strongest and almost ghostly alienating effect is that children play adults and switch between rehearsal situations and characters in roles. Questions also include fears, hopes and taboos in general. The soberness, the disruptions and the children’s performance are breathtaking.

The title of the piece is a reference to the piano pieces of the same name: »Cinq pièces faciles« by Igor Stravinsky that he wrote for his children. »Five easy pieces« belongs to the most unusual and most invited productions in recent times. In 2017 the play received the award »Staging of the year« and will be shown in 30 countries over the next two years.

Milo Rau, born in Bern in 1977, is a director, playwriter, essayist and scholar. He has published over 50 pieces, films and books and is one of the most important directors in the European theatre business. Political issues and documentary reappraisals are his trademark.