Adapted from Friedrich Schiller
Staging: Milo Rau
Premiere: 23 April 2022, Pfauen
1h 45min
The world’s streets are crowded with them: protestors, feminists, Trumpists, scientists, anti-vaxxers, critics of capitalism – people waving guns, banners or masks who are united by a single but not common goal: defending their freedoms. Never before have so many people publicly demanded their right to self-determination at the same time. And never before have they taken up such a range of positions. Which “freedom” are we actually talking about here?
Time to consult a so-called “freedom fighter”. In preparation for the production, Swiss director Milo Rau follows in the footsteps of William Tell as he invites on a road trip through the country, bringing together actors, laypeople, gentle humanists and free radicals under one banner. “We have to break free!” is the simultaneously utopian and provocative call of this ragtag group. Break free from what? In exchange for what?
«The performance is extremely dense, sometimes banal, often grandiose. Above all, however, the true stories of real people, which ultimately include the actors, depict exactly what the exile ensemble was aiming for in 1939: comprehensive humanity.» (Süddeutsche Zeitung, 23.04.2022)
«The most impressive performance of the evening. When former forced labourer Irma Frei tells her story of fate, it becomes so quiet in the theatre hall that you would hear a pin drop to the floor.» (Blick, 24.04.2022)
«Milo Rau has reached right into Helvetic realities - from that of the hunter to that of the hunted - and whirled them seemingly at random into the myth. The result was a flaky but genuine theatre for the city.» (Tages-Anzeiger, 4.23.2022)
«Milo Rau's highlight turns out to be that Tell can be played by anyone.» (NZZ, 24.04.2022)
«Masterly» (RTS, 27.04.2022)
