Stand-up melodrama by renowned Swiss theater director Milo Rau. A performance that explores the events that can alter the course of a life — and a manifesto for what popular theater can be today. Festival d’Avignon 2025 premiere.


Poking fun at the premise that a young artist is shaped as much by their roles as by their family history, Milo Rau explores, in this scenic etude, the events that imperceptibly alter the course of our lives: generational conflicts, political history, love, and death. Lighthearted and full of humour, seeking to create theater by creating a community, LA LETTRE is a manifesto on what popular theater can be today. From the story of Joan of Arc to Chekhov’s The Seagull, the performance unfolds on multiple levels, in a constant back-and-forth between art and life. Even the dead return to the stage, with the help of recorded voices.

The result is a stand-up melodrama in the form of a double helix: as the actors — Olga Mouak and Arne De Tremerie — embark on an honest, absurd, and shocking journey through their deeply personal histories of theater — from Sophocles to casting couches, from Chekhov to the #MeToo movement — there emerges a profound exploration of the soul of the performing arts, and of the art of living itself.

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Actors: Arne De Tremerie, Olga Mouak

With the voices of Anne Alvaro, Isabelle Huppert, Jocelyne Monier, and Marijke Pinoy

Director: Milo Rau

Text: Milo Rau and team

Dramaturgy: Giacomo Bisordi

Assistant Directors: Giacomo Bisordi, Edward Fortes

Scenic Design, Sound, Lighting, Costumes, and Props:

Milo Rau and Giacomo Bisordi

Assistant, Costumes and Props: Julie Louvain

Production: Festival d’Avignon
Part of the Voices Berlin Festival

Tickets: https://voices.berlin/en/event/la-lettre

(DE) https://voices.berlin/de/event/la-lettre