Projektbeschreibung
With their production “The Day Before”, the Brazilian director Christiane Jatahy, in collaboration with the German-Austrian composer Brigitta Muntendorf and the Spanish journalist, activist and writer Rosa Montera, have created a political, participative music theatre piece which is scheduled to premiere at the Vienna Festival in spring 2026. Additional performances are planned at the KunstFestSpielen Herrenhausen in Hanover and the Festival Musica in Strasbourg. The international trio examines the legend of the “Iliad” – one of the best known and perhaps most brutal texts of European literature, infused with lines of conflict and masculine-driven violence so prevalent in our globalised world today.
The piece is based on Simone Weil’s essay “Poem of Force”, in which she investigates wars and violence and determines that conflicts with no defined objectives usually end at the limits of human perseverance. The immersive performance begins as a party in a bunker on the eve of imminent military operations. The audience is joined by performing artists, such as percussionists from Percussions de Strasbourg, the singer Sofia Jernberg, the actress and dancer Margeaux Marielle-Tréhoüart, extras and a local girls’ choir. The immersive experience is enhanced by 3D audio, bone-conduction headphones and live video. Weil’s realisation is then performatively and physically rendered at the end of the performance. The piece culminates with the artists collapsing in exhaustion.
Artistic direction: Brigitta Muntendorf
Participating artists: Aduni Guedes, Christiane Jatahy, Sofia Jernberg, Les Percussions de Strasbourg, Margaux Marielle-Tréhoüart, Rosa Montero, Thomas Walgrave and others
Dates
23 May – 24 May 2026