The Tragic Fate of Sonata No. 2 focuses on the close ties between classical music and power: When Chopin composed his marche funèbre, he could hardly have suspected that it would one day be played at the funerals of leaders from utterly different ideological backgrounds, such as British prime minister Margaret Thatcher and secretary-general of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah. Is it not the music itself that is buried in such moments, robbed of its freedom and instrumentalised to glorify leaders? With inimitable acuity and fine humour, Lina Majdalanie and Rabih Mroué dissect the interplay of power, death and music. The artists, who are from Beirut and now live in Berlin and whose works are shown across the globe, are bringing a pièce commune that is as humorous as it is politically charged to the Republic of Gods.

A joint project of the Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen) | Free Republic of Vienna and the Volkstheater Wien

Pièce Commune

The pièce commune has become an established, popular ritual in the Free Republic of Vienna: each year, a different artist stages a touring play with no more than two actors and very little technology at community centres, football grounds, open air stages and other exciting venues. Following on from L’addition by Tim Etchells (2024) and A Voracious Shadow by Mariano Pensotti (2025), this year sees a joint production by the Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen) and Volkstheater Wien: The Tragic Fate of Sonata No. 2 by Lina Majdalanie and Rabih Mroué. Popular theatre of the highest regard – world theatre for everyone.