La Parabole du Seum - Rébecca Chaillon - Vienna Festival 2026

Inspired by the biographies of a pop star and an astrophysicist who are from the same banlieue near Paris as herself, the stigmatised district of Saint-Denis (93), Rébecca Chaillon tells a story of survival as part of a minority with Parable of the Sour. Chaillon, who calls herself a ‘Black, fat, childless, ageing lesbian’ and who is one of the most influential new voices in France’s cultural landscape, delivers a rebellious science fiction performance full of empathy, humour and lyricism with her latest production. Following Octavia Butler’s visionary novel Parable of the Sower, in which an adolescent girl devises her own religion, Parable of the Sour  is an inspirational fable about the magic of faith. It focuses on a community of fat people who remain committed even in the face of a perpetual fear of breakdown, brutal crimes and collective paralysis.  Parable of the Sour is an equally comical and radical conquest of a humane future.

Recommended for ages 16+

Relaxed Seating – in order to provide all spectators with sufficient space to sit on the benches, the number of spectators has been reduced.

Language: French with German and English surtitles
Duration: approx. 2h 45min

program

La Parabole du Seum

Die Parabel von der Säure

Rébecca Chaillon