{"id":1233,"date":"2026-09-17T23:18:26","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T23:18:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ivomuller.com\/onemillionwords\/?p=1233"},"modified":"2026-09-21T18:59:34","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T18:59:34","slug":"edinburgh-fringe-review-exeunt-magazine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ivomuller.com\/onemillionwords\/index.php\/2026\/09\/17\/edinburgh-fringe-review-exeunt-magazine\/","title":{"rendered":"Edinburgh Fringe Review \/ Exeunt Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n

One Million Words \u2013 Pleasance Dome<\/h4>\n\n

By Natalia Riga<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n

A soundscape of poems recited in multiple languages welcomes us to the auditorium. The show\u2019s programme extends an invitation: we\u2019re not to worry about understanding everything, but instead let the words flow into our souls. We, as audience, are an equal part of this experience. \u201cYou never know,\u201d the programme says, \u201cmaybe one of these letters was written to you\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

The necessary introductions: Ivo M\u00fcller, as both himself and poet Rainer Maria Rilke, will guide us through the thoughts, fears and angsts of a solitary, restless, immigrant artist, struggling to find his place and self.\u00a0One Million Words<\/em>\u00a0is part of the diverse S\u00e3o Paolo Showcase from Brazil. It\u2019s devised from Rilke\u2019s extensive correspondence and appeals to the poet in us, the lonely creative soul longing for connection in a brutal world.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

The show is well crafted, utilising a variety of theatrical languages (including some delightful shadow puppetry) and achieving a great balance between sharpness, fullness, stillness and tenderness. M\u00fcller exists on stage with exceptional ease and makes sure we\u2019re all included. It is no surprise to learn that M\u00fcller is a former school teacher; we feel safe and cared for in his hands, no one will be left behind \u2013 at least not for lack of him trying. (In the case of an audience member thirstily scrolling on her phone during the show, his gentle but firm effort to draw her back into the room was commendable.)<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

The lack of conventional narrative doesn\u2019t feel like a disadvantage. Instead, each piece of text is approached as an \u00e9tude, a little composition building on from the previous one, an opportunity for the material to instigate an emotional and existential exploration.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

The show is at its strongest when he allows the words to come out in his most playful, honest and direct way \u2013 usually not as the character Rilke, but as himself, exposed and unguarded. It\u2019s when the revelations are true to him that the words of Rilke come to life. And if there is one thing missed, it is to be let more in on M\u00fcller\u2019s connection to Rilke beyond the show\u2019s introduction. I longed to know why these words are important to him. In the scene where he is \u201clearning to see\u201d (one of Rilke\u2019s most important moments of clarity), I longed to know what M\u00fcller saw! But perhaps a certain level of ambiguity leaves Rilke\u2019s still relevant words more open to our own imaginations.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

There is also something beautiful and meta about this show being performed in the largest theatre festival. It\u2019s a wink; an acknowledgement of the often lonely path artists tread, a recognition of the hard work and a reminder of the essence of creation. Life (and art) is as difficult as it is profoundly beautiful. M\u00fcller doesn\u2019t only embody Rilke on stage, but every single creative that is concurrently putting on a show at Fringe and beyond. We are all connected. As any good piece of art about loneliness does, this show succeeds in bringing us together.<\/span><\/p>\n

One Million Words<\/a>\u00a0is on to 31 August<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One Million Words \u2013 Pleasance Dome By Natalia Riga A soundscape of poems recited in multiple languages welcomes us to the auditorium. The show\u2019s programme extends an invitation: we\u2019re not to worry about understanding everything, but instead let the words flow into our souls. We, as audience, are an equal part of this experience. \u201cYou […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advanced_seo_description":"Read professional reviews of Rilke - One Million Words , Ivo M\u00fcller\u2019s solo theatre show inspired by Rainer Maria Rilke, at the Edinburgh Fringe 2026.","jetpack_seo_html_title":"Edinburgh Fringe Reviews | One Million Words \u2013 Rilke","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[34,38,37,36,39,31,33],"class_list":["post-1233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-edinburgh-fringe-2026","tag-fringe-reviews","tag-ivo-muller","tag-one-million-words-rilke","tag-professional-reviews","tag-solo-show","tag-theatre-reviews"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ivomuller.com\/onemillionwords\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ivomuller.com\/onemillionwords\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ivomuller.com\/onemillionwords\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ivomuller.com\/onemillionwords\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ivomuller.com\/onemillionwords\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1233"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/ivomuller.com\/onemillionwords\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1233\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1265,"href":"https:\/\/ivomuller.com\/onemillionwords\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1233\/revisions\/1265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ivomuller.com\/onemillionwords\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ivomuller.com\/onemillionwords\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ivomuller.com\/onemillionwords\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}