Special: Milo Rau: Is theatre dangerous?

How did the first evening at the Prague Crossroads festival look like? Listen to our reportage from the opening night and from the debate "Is theater dangerous?" with Milo Rau.

We started the festival on the New Stage with a debate that was part of Resistance now! Tour of the Swiss director Milo Rau. At the end of the summer 2024, the artistic director of the Vienna Wienerfestwochen responded to the dismissal of Matej Drlička from the position of director of the Slovak National Theater with a petition that had a huge impact throughout Europe, and at the same time he began to tour Europe with his project "Resistance now!". The aim is to connect artists across countries and together with them to discuss how to resist the wave of extremism and violence that has risen against culture not only in Slovakia in the recent months. In addition to the exceptional productions on the program, the Prague Crossroads Festival also became an important meeting place and solidarity. 

Alongside Milo Rau, we invited to the debate the Czech director Jiří Havelka, who created two exceptional productions related to Slovakia's recent history at the Slovak National Theatre and the producer Dóra Büki from Hungary, representing one of the most progressive and interesting theaters of today, Proton. In a video greeting, Miriam Kičiňová, artistic director of Drama in the Slovak  National Theater described the critical situation in Slovakia.

This episode is hosted by the dramaturg of the Prague Crossroads Festival, Nina Jacques.