The production by Swiss director Milo Rau and playwright Servane Dècle, created in collaboration with the Vienna Festival and co-produced by the Avignon Festival, was scheduled to feature at the Belgrade International Theater Festival (BITEF) in November, following its recent appearance at the National Pantheon in Lisbon. However, it was canceled, prompting a wave of reactions to the decision.
“As the producer of the censored project, the Festival of Avignon feels directly targeted by this unacceptable decision and demands explanations from the responsible authorities,” stated Tiago Rodrigues on his Facebook page.
The director of the French festival emphasized that this decision “threatens one of the fundamental principles of creation: free art, capable of questioning the world,” and reiterated “his full support for the resignation of the BITEF artistic direction and all those defending freedom of creation across Europe and the world.”
The performance ‘O Julgamento Pelicot,’ inspired by the high-profile trial in France involving dozens of men invited by Gisèle Pelicot’s husband to rape her while she was unconscious and under the influence of drugs, was due to be presented at BITEF in November but was “censored,” according to its director, Milo Rau.
The cancelation raises questions about the future of a cultural event long viewed as a symbol of artistic freedom, resulting in the resignation of two members of the festival’s artistic direction.
BITEF, planned for late November without a set date, faces several withdrawals attributed by artists to political pressures after funding cuts and changes in artistic leadership.
Festival director Milos Lolic and playwright Borisav Matic told local channel N1 they believe the decision to drop the spectacle was linked to Milo Rau’s criticism last year of a state-backed lithium exploration project in Serbia, which sparked nationwide protests.
“It is, without doubt, the most damaging act against artistic freedom I have experienced in two decades as an artist and curator,” said Milo Rau in a statement to AFP, adding, “One of the most important festivals in Europe is being dismantled before your eyes, for incomprehensible reasons.”
Serbian artistic circles have reported increasing government pressures since protests erupted in November 2024 following the deadly collapse of a railway station roof, an incident protesters blame on endemic corruption in the country.
‘O Julgamento Pelicot’ is scheduled to be performed on November 5 in Warsaw, Poland, and December 9 in Stockholm, Sweden.
