In response to the politically motivated dismissal of Matej Drlička as Director General of the Slovak National Theatre in mid-August 2024, the Vienna Festival launched the RESISTANCE NOW! TOUR throughout Europe, America and Asia. So far, 16 stops in different cities from Stockholm to Belgrade, from Antwerp to Prague, from New York to Mosul to Taipei, have sparked artistic actions, political interventions, and debates.
The campaign connects 200 leading cultural organisations in 50 countries and has reached 100.000.000 people. RESISTANCE NOW TOGETHER is collaborating with the EU on a new legal framework aimed at the protection of culture and freedom of expression: the European Culture Freedom Act.
Creatives around the world are invited to join the global and diverse campaign! At www.resistance-now-together.eu, our partner, the European Theatre Convention, brings together artistic positions, debates and events – all united in the common goal of advocating for a new European law to safeguard culture.
Because the answer to nationalism has to be diverse and global
Past dates
24.9. Countering Democratic Backsliding in Cultural Policy
Barcelona | Spain (online)
As a virtual side event to MONDIACULT 2025, the world’s biggest cultural policy conference, the debate "Countering Democratic Backsliding in Cultural Policy: Safeguarding Artistic Freedom and the Independence of Cultural Institutions" takes place. Cultural institutions constitute key spaces where the right to artistic freedom and freedom of expression is exercised. Yet, these institutions are increasingly vulnerable to political interference. This conversation will bring together colleagues from different sectors to explore how we can work together to strengthen safeguards that protect cultural institutions from political interference. The session is meant to be a collaborative dialogue — not only to exchange experiences and surface practical solutions, but also to connect people who are committed to strengthening cultural governance as part of democratic resilience.
19. 9. Press conference
Berlin | Germany
Right-wing politician H.C. Strache took legal action against Milo Rau's latest book. The book has been withdrawn by the publisher. Tomorrow, Friday, the director and author will announce the verdict at a press conference in Berlin. Also on the podium are lawyer Michael Mai (Artistic Freedom Initiative), Bettina Hesse (media policy advisor, ver.di), Alexander Karschnia (DIE VIELEN), and Jörg Sundermeier (publisher, Verbrecher Verlag).
13. 9. ON THE ART OF RESISTANCE
Oslo | Norwegen
The RESISTANCE NOW! tour stop at De Norske Teatret in Oslo will feature two events focusing on ways to use art for activism. Together with interested parties from various cultural fields, Festwochen artistic director Milo Rau will develop artistic strategies for international cooperation, drawing on his experience of the intertwining of history and politics in a workshop. In a public discussion, the director will explore the question of the current social significance of theatre institutions and festivals.
3.9. The Second Coming:' Milo Rau in conversation with Elisabeth Bronfen
The Department of German at NYU and Deutsches Haus at NYU present The Second Coming - Milo Rau in conversation with Elisabeth Bronfen. In this conversation, the director and author, Milo Rau, and the author and cultural critic, Elisabeth Bronfen will discuss the reasons for and impact of the recent revival of global fascism in Europe and the U.S.; the role of resistance with a particular focus placed on the arts, and on some recent stagings by Rau such as Elfriede Jelinek's Endsieg: The Second Coming.
At a day-long RESISTANCE NOW! symposium as part of the DOWN TO EARTH festival in New York, Milo Rau will take part in a panel discussion with Tania Bruguera and Richard Schechner. Together with New York theatre artists, producers, students and festival organisers, they will discuss the state of theatre and the performing arts under the new US administration and the role of political theatre. This will be followed by a reading of Elfriede Jelinek's ‘Endsieg: The Second Coming’ with actress Nicole Ansari.
ETC will raise its voice for Resistance and Artistic Freedom during its annual event for policymakers and theatre practitioners in the heart of the largest theatre festival in Europe.
14.6. ART IS INDESTRUCTIBLE
Venice | Italy
Swiss actress Ursina Lardi delivered a rousing speech about culture as an act of resistance as she received the Silver Lion at the Biennale Teatro 2025 in Venice, on June 14, 2025.
8.5. First public reading Burgtheater
Vienna | Austria
Reading of the complete text Burgtheater with the ensemble of Burgtheater.
In a special debate series at Volksbühne, Milo Rau, !Mediengruppe Bitnik, Ece Temelkuran, Anne Roth, Hito Steyerl and Sönke Iwersen, among others, will discuss “Techno-Fascism: From Elon Musk to AfD.”
With a fire ritual, the shaman Nika Korenjak cleanses the Vienna Funkhaus of old and new fascism to make way for a republic of love.
8.2. Demonstration ‘Democracy needs you’
Munich | Germany
At the ‘Democracy needs you’ demonstration in Munich, Robert Misik shared the central positions of RESISTANCE NOW! with 320,000 people in his speech ‘We will not be cosy!’. ‘You are standing here today because you want to prevent the kind of conditions that prevail in my country,’ he began his rousing speech and ended: ’We fight frenzy with reason, egoism with the spirit of justice and solidarity, or, as our Slovakian friend Matej Drlicka said: We beat the fascists with the power of love!’
The RESISTANCE NOW! Tour will make a stop in Strasbourg at the Théâtre du Maillon on 30 November. Here, the open letter RESISTANCE NOW: FREE CULTURE will be presented by the initiators in the presence of former French Culture Minister Catherine Trautmann. Matej Drlička, former director of the Slovak National Theater, Emmanuel Droit, university professor, Joris Mathieu, director, director of the Théâtre Nouvelle Génération, CDN, Lyon and Heidi Wiley, director of the European Theater Convention discussed the role of art in shaping democratic future perspectives in Europe.
Sign the petition RESISTANCE NOW: FREE CULTURE here!
The next stop on the RESISTANCE NOW! tour, the Central European Forum 2024 in Bratislava, will explore the power of misinformation – from early radio and television to social media today. Discussions will examine the links between deception, fear, and the breakdown of trust, with featured speakers including french journalist Natalie Nougayrède, british historian an author Timothy Garton Ash and Milo Rau, Artistic Director of the Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen) | Free Republic of Vienna.
On 8 November 2024, the Jewish Museum Hohenems was awarded the Rheintaler Kulturpreis Goldiga Törgga for its important work on controversial social issues. Milo Rau, artistic director of the Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen) | Free Republic of Vienna, gave the laudatory speech and took this as an opportunity to bring the RESISTANCE NOW! Tour to Vorarlberg and to honor the museum’s commitment to intercultural dialog and coming to terms with history. The award ceremony took place at the Kinotheater Madlen in Heerbrugg
Milo Rau debates the interferences between art and activism with various guests: on the basis of the film/project White Cube by Renzo Martens and Rau's Jesus film project The New Gospel.
The Prague Crossroads Festival is hosting another RESISTANCE NOW! tour stop. Dóra Büki from the Hungarian Proton Theatre, which is facing unprecedented pressure from the Fidesz government, Miriam Kičiňová, artistic director of the Drama Theater of the Slovak National Theater, Jiří Havelka, the incoming artistic director of the Dejvické Theatre and Milo Rau, artistic director of the Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen) | Free Republic of Vienna, will discuss their visions of a joint solidarity response to the danger posed by the new nationalism with Nina Jacques, dramaturg of the Prague Crossroads Festival.
For his opening speech, Milo Rau poses under the title Embassy of the Future the central question of his work in times of a global shift to the right and neoliberal budget cuts: Why theatre? Why do we need this place – today more than ever?
Moderated by Milo Rau, artistic director of the Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen) | Free Republic of Vienna, Dóra Büki from the Hungarian Proton Theatre, the dismissed director of the Slovak National Theatre Matej Drlička and the Croatian philosopher and activist Srećko Horvat will discuss how we can stand up together for democracy, diversity and the freedom of art.
How to act as a public theatre when governments follow non-democratic agendas? This edition of the European Theatre Talks titled ‘European Theatre Talks: Free Culture – Resisting Political Interference’ will focus on the increasing restrictions of freedom of expression in a European context, with interventions from artists, cultural figures and decision makers that work closely on themes of artistic freedom and democracy.
As a member of the Council of the Free Republic of Vienna Fariba Mosleh, Curator and Cultural Manager, will represent the Vienna Festival | Wiener Festwochen as a speaker.
The RESISTANCE NOW! Tour lands at the Taiwanese National Theatre: the island Taiwan (Formosa) was colonised by the defeated army of dictator Chiang Kai-shek after the Chinese civil war in 1949, and the indigenous peoples were driven into the mountains. Milo Rau discusses art, resistance, education and the long road to democracy and equality with the indigenous activist, filmmaker and founder of the first indigenous kindergarden in Taiwan, Mayaw Biho.
On Monday night (21 October), Milo Rau joined the protests organized by Mayaw Biho in Taiwan against the construction of a luxury resort. He camped together with 100 activists in the bay under the Amis People's Sacred Mountain in front of the house of the indigenous Shu Lin family. The police and city officials were chased away by the activists in the morning hours and the bulldozer that was supposed to destroy the house disappeared (official press statement).
“Can Beauty Save the World?” asks Milo Rau in his opening speech at the 58th BITEF Theater Festival in Belgrade. The festival's main program will also include Carolina Bianchis The Bride and Goodnight Cinderella and Antigone in the Amazon, a co-production of the Vienna Festival.
‘What can and does a theatre play leave behind — what impact can it have in the real world?’ Starting from the artistic projects New Gospel and Orestes in Mosul Milo Rau and Yvan Sagnet, activist from Cameroon and Jesus actors in New Gospel, discuss with Segal Center Executive Director Frank Hentschker.
Together with Luanda Casella, Milo Rau will give the opening speech at the World Congress of the International Theatre Institute ITI entitled How to resist.
Who’s afraid of art? More and more far right politicians in Europe are trying to silence artists and institutions. The most recent example being Slovakia, where the directors of the Slovak National Theatre and the Slovak National Gallery suddenly were dismissed by the minister of culture. The director of SND, Matej Drlička, will talk about this flagrant attack on the freedom of artistic expression and the broader political culture in which this happened. Milo Rau will report on strategies on how institutions can show solidarity in a case like this.
In the conversation Art and Resistance, Milo Rau, Mattias Andersson and others discuss how artists and activists should fight against the total capitalization of the theater on the one hand and the reduction of funds on the other. All against the background of an increasing nationalism where theater managers are dismissed on political grounds, as recently happened in, for example, Slovakia.
Resistance now, everywhere and together!
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