The Rape Of Lucrece: A Casting

About

Oh! She lost what was worth more to her than life.

A group of actors and an author attempt to stage Shakespeare's poem The Rape of Lucrece. They hold auditions for all the roles, analyze the text, reenact the situations, and connect them to their own experiences. As a band, they transform all the anger and pain into music. Sexualized violence is omnipresent and political. Countless stories, songs, films, and images of assault shape our culture. Director Lola Arias bases her play on research and conversations with victims of violence, artists, and philosophers. What images come to mind when we say the word rape? How much silence, fear, and shame do we carry with us? How is sexual violence embedded in our bodies and in society?

Cast

Ntando Cele, Barbara Colceriu, Phil Hayes, Laura Leupi, Julian Anatol Schneider

Live music: Joël Fonsegrive, Elia Rediger

Creatives

Direction: Lola Arias
Text: Lola Arias and cast
Stage: Dominic Huber
Costumes: Tutia Schaad
Sound design: Elia Rediger, Joel Fonsegrive
Video: Mikko Gaestel
Lighting design: Mario Bubic
Dramaturgy: Bibiana Mendes
Production: Jennifer Muangsiri
Production (Lola Arias Company): Laura Nicolas
Assistant Director: Nima Aron Zarnegin, Julia Hasse

Lola Arias is an Argentinian writer, theatre and film director whose work straddles the border between reality and fiction. Her projects bring together people from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences – including war veterans, refugees and sex workers. Since 2001, she has written and directed 25 theatre plays, including My life after (2009), Atlas des Kommunismus (2016), Minefield (2016), Futureland (2019), Mother Tongue (2020), The days out there (2024) and Androgynous (2025). As a film director, Lola Arias has made two feature films: Teatro de guerra (2018) and Reas (2024). She has also produced several exhibitions and installations, including Stunt Double (2016) and Slow Motion (2021). Both her stage productions and her films have been presented at some of the most prestigious international theatre and film festivals, including the Festival d'Avignon, the LIFT Festival, Under the Radar, Theater Spektakel, the Wiener Festwochen and the Berlinale. Lola Arias has received numerous awards, including the Konex Award (2014 and 2024), the Authors' Prize (2018) and the prestigious International Ibsen Award (2024). The globally renowned director will introduce her work to Czech audiences with her latest production The Rape of Lucrece: A Casting.