Milo Rau named director of Vienna Festival

Milo Rau listens to praise from Veronica Kaup-Hasler, Vienna’s City Councillor for Culture, on Friday Keystone / Hans Klaus Techt

Swiss theatre director Milo Rau will be the next artistic director of the Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen), taking charge of the 2024 edition of the major European art and culture event.

Rau, 45, will take over from Christophe Slagmuylder in July on a five-year contract, the festival said in a statementExternal link.

Rau is leaving his position as director of the NTGent theatre in Belgium, which he has held since the 2018/19 season. “It is not possible to carry out both activities at the same time,” he said at a press conference in Vienna on Friday.

“I am very pleased that Milo Rau, one of Europe’s leading directors, will be shaping Vienna’s premier festival over the next few years. When it comes to theatre, Milo Rau is someone who knows how to inspire people,” said Veronica Kaup-Hasler, Vienna’s City Councillor for Culture.

“As a politically minded artist, Milo Rau operates in various fields, from theatre to opera and film, and has excellent international connections. As a result, we now once again have a brilliant artistic personality at the helm of the Wiener Festwochen.”

Milo Rau

Since 2002, Rau, 45, has published over 50 plays, films and books. These include The Last Days of the Ceausescus (2009), Hate Radio (2011) Breivik’s Statement (2012) and Five Easy Pieces (2016). His theatre productions have been staged at all major international festivals, including the Berliner Theatertreffen, the Festival d’Avignon, the Venice Biennale and the Edinburgh Festival, and have toured over 30 countries. He has been the artistic director at NTGent in Belgium since 2018.

As well as his work in theatre, the Rau writes newspaper columns and books, teaches at art colleges, and makes documentary films.

Milo Rau was born in Bern in 1977 and studied sociology, German and Romance languages in Paris, Zurich and Berlin.

Kaup-Hasler believed that under Rau’s direction the festival will not only draw audiences into the theatre but also into debates. Recently, the festival has complained about a drop in attendance.

Rau said he knew of no other city “that is as ardent about theatre as Vienna”. He said he was looking forward to continuing the great tradition of the Vienna Festival and creating a “mythical, powerful and controversial theatre festival”.

“The Festwochen are to be a festival that involves everyone and is for everyone: a world theatre of many voices, formally diverse, passionate and unflinching. A festival for Vienna and for the world,” he said.