{"id":1343,"date":"2026-10-02T18:42:19","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T18:42:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ivomuller.com\/onemillionwords\/?p=1343"},"modified":"2026-10-02T18:44:40","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T18:44:40","slug":"edinburgh-festival-fringe-london-theatre1-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ivomuller.com\/onemillionwords\/index.php\/2026\/10\/02\/edinburgh-festival-fringe-london-theatre1-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Edinburgh Festival Fringe \/ London Theatre1 review"},"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

One Million Words by Ivo M\u00fcller | Review<\/a><\/h4>\n
\n

\"5<\/p>\n

Review by Loretta Monaco \/ August 7, 2026<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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

Stepping into a top-floor studio space at the October Gallery in London, I encounter the stage setting of One Million<\/em><\/strong> Words, <\/em><\/strong>a theatre piece based on the writings of the much-revered Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke, and developed into a dynamic solo show by Brazilian actor\/producer Ivo M\u00fcller. The play\u2019s London preview celebrates the centenary of Rilke\u2019s death in 1926 and precedes a three-week run at the 2026 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.<\/span><\/p>\n

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

\"Ivo
<\/span>Ivo M\u00fcller in One Million Words. Photo credit: Carol Gherardi<\/span>\n<\/figure>\n

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

As if propelled by a forceful wind, M\u00fcller rushes in and speaks directly to the audience. He describes a period in his earlier life when his desire to act was plagued by a paralysing self-doubt. In 2003, while teaching in a public school in Brazil, he discovered a copy of Letters to a Young Poet<\/em> at the school library. The book is a collection of Rilke\u2019s responses, beginning in 1903, to a military cadet who \u2013 unhappy and seeking a career change \u2013 wrote to Rilke asking him to evaluate his verse. Rilke offered no reassurance to the cadet, but advised him to look within, stop seeking external validation, embrace solitude, and \u2018live the question\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Rilke\u2019s words take hold of M\u00fcller\u2019s psyche. The triumphant result is to develop this very project. M\u00fcller\u2019s own artistic awakening is channeled through the poet\u2019s masterworks such as Letters to a Young Poet<\/em> and Go to the Limits of Your Longing<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Not a moment is wasted in One Million Words<\/em><\/strong> <\/em>during M\u00fcller\u2019s 60-minute embodiment of Rilke\u2019s turbulent life and the celebrated thinkers and artists he encounters. Auguste Rodin is a significant influence, alongside Leo Tolstoy, Sigmund Freud, and, most importantly, psychoanalyst Lou Andreas-Salom\u00e9 \u2013 Rilke\u2019s intellectual muse, lover, and lifelong friend.<\/span><\/p>\n

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

It is a power-packed performance, this morphing into the character of Rilke, which M\u00fcller achieves seamlessly. As the play opens, we meet Rilke in an extended period of existential crisis. Unable to write poetry, he writes letters instead. Surrounding him are thousands of age-tinged letters strewn across the stage.<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Contrasting the visual effect of this mesmerising sea of paper, and positioned centre stage, are a table and two chairs (furniture design: Borys Rzonca) bathed in warm, sculptural light (lighting design: Cesar Baptista, Jacob Hollens). Above the table, suspended on thin wires, are two objects: a waxed red apple and a pristine white rose. Seduction and purity, side by side and without contradiction.<\/span><\/p>\n

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

The directorial influence of Arieta Correa permeates the moment when M\u00fcller grips and bites into the suspended apple. It is both violent and purposeful. He chews methodically, stares defiantly at the audience, then rips off another bite. His stare seems to demand: \u2018I\u2019ve disclosed so much of this poet Rilke \u2013 his ingenuity, his solitude and his suffering. What of you?\u2019 It is a calculated pause, turned upon an audience adrift in Rilke\u2019s words.<\/span><\/p>\n

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

\u2018The purpose of life is to be defeated by greater and greater things.\u2019<\/span>
\u2014 Letters to a Young Poet <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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

\u2018Nearby is the country they call life.<\/span>
You will know it by its seriousness.\u2019<\/span>
\u2014 Go to the Limits of Your Longing<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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

One Million<\/em><\/strong> Words <\/em><\/strong>is an explosion of complicated pleasures: Muller\u2019s desire to use his own voice and body to deliver the power of Rilke\u2019s incantations; director Arieta Correa\u2019s influence on shaping that passion for the stage; and its effect on audiences immersed in the intensity of the poet\u2019s oeuvre. An unmissable experience awaits theatregoers at the 2026 Edinburgh Fringe. Highly recommended.<\/span><\/p>\n

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

For one year, celebrated Bohemian author Rainer Maria Rilke<\/strong> tried to write poetry and found he could only write letters instead. A century later, Brazilian Ivo M\u00fcller<\/strong> tries desperately to feel at home in a country where even his name is foreign, shaking the foundations of his identity. One Million Words<\/em><\/strong> is an exploration of Rilke\u2019s letters, navigating themes of love, artistic creation, and a lost sense of belonging.<\/span><\/p>\n

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

15 years ago, Ivo M\u00fcller<\/strong> was a school teacher looking for ways to inspire and connect his classroom. Scouring the shelves of a local library, he came across several copies of Rilke\u2019s Letters to a Young Poet<\/em>, beginning a relationship with the author that would come to define his artistic practice. The letters are luminous, detailing Rilke\u2019s journey to reconstruct an understanding of being and solitude. Observing his young students as constantly connected, yet profoundly lonely, M\u00fcller sees a space for contemplation in Rilke\u2019s words: what potential might they have to foster empathy and genuine human connection?<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Written and performed and produced by Ivo M\u00fcller<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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

Director \u2013 Arieta Correa<\/strong><\/span>
Assistant Director \u2013 Mariana Goulart<\/strong><\/span>
Lighting \u2013 Cesar Baptista<\/strong> and Jacob Hollens
<\/strong>Lighting operator \u2013 Vania Jaconis<\/strong><\/span>
Costume designer \u2013 Sophia April Grose<\/strong><\/span>
Sound Designer \u2013 Jo\u00e3o John Zalewski<\/strong><\/span>
Graphic designer \u2013 Leonardo Junqueira<\/strong><\/span>
Associate Producer \u2013 Domingas Person<\/strong>, Lee Boek<\/strong> and Darrell Larson <\/strong><\/span>
UK General Management: Suzanna Rosenthal Productions <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

ONE MILLION WORDS
Pleasance Dome at the Edinburgh Fringe<\/a>
Presented as part of the S\u00e3o Paulo Showcase
5 to 31 August 2026<\/p>\n

<\/p>\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 by Ivo M\u00fcller | Review Review by Loretta Monaco \/ August 7, 2026 Stepping into a top-floor studio space at the October Gallery in London, I encounter the stage setting of One Million Words, a theatre piece based on the writings of the much-revered Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke, and developed into a dynamic solo show […]<\/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":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","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":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ivomuller.com\/onemillionwords\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1343","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=1343"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ivomuller.com\/onemillionwords\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1343\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1346,"href":"https:\/\/ivomuller.com\/onemillionwords\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1343\/revisions\/1346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ivomuller.com\/onemillionwords\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ivomuller.com\/onemillionwords\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ivomuller.com\/onemillionwords\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}