Milo Rau, born 1977 in Bern, is the artistic director of the Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen) | Free Republic of Vienna. The director and author has published over 100 plays, films, books and actions, and his theatre productions have been shown at all major international festivals, including the Berlin Theatertreffen, the Festival d'Avignon, the Venice Biennale, the Vienna Festival and the Kunstenfestivaldesarts in Brussels, as well as touring in over 30 countries worldwide. From 2018 to 2024, Milo Rau was artistic director of NTGent (Belgium).