Five easy pieces
Milo Rau / IIPM / Campo
The stage is transformed into a studio where a documentary reenactment of the Dutroux affair is being filmed live and in full view.
An equivocal, somewhat troubled coach is responsible for casting the Flemish children chosen to play all the characters in the case—victims, parents, police officers and other people linked to the events.
After questioning them about their tastes and identity, he is also the one who introduces them to acting and directs them in front of the camera throughout the performance.
Apart from providing details about the crimes, from the murderer’s childhood in Burundi, at the height of the Congo
Crisis, to the funeral of his last victim, Swiss director, Milo Rau, who specialises in thorny, subversive dramatic investigations, explores the history of Belgium from the 1960s onwards.
Far from being put off by the serious subject matter, and despite showing it all due respect, this production and its budding actors do not refrain from some essential moments of comic relief and several upbeat musical numbers.
[BACKSTAGE]