In May 2017 Louis wrote 'Why My Father Votes for Le Pen', an op-ed that was published on the front page of The New York Times. In recounting the story of his rape and attempted murder on Christmas Eve of 2012, the autobiographical novel centers around the cyclical and self-perpetuating nature of violence in society.

In 2016, Louis published his second novel, History of Violence. In the letter, which was published on the front page of Le Monde, and was later reprinted in English by the Los Angeles Review of Books, Louis and Lagasnerie denounce the legitimization of right-wing agendas in public discourse and establish principles by which leftist intellectuals should reengage in public debate. In September 2015, Édouard Louis wrote an open letter, 'Manifesto for an Intellectual and Political Counteroffensive', together with philosopher Geoffroy de Lagasnerie. It was a bestseller in France and has been translated into more than 20 languages. The book also generated debate and controversy over social perception of the working class. The book was the subject of extensive media attention and was hailed for its literary merit and compelling story. In 2014 he published En finir avec Eddy Bellegueule, an autobiographical novel. L'insoumission en héritage, which analyses the influence of Pierre Bourdieu on critical thinking and political emancipation. The same year, he edited the collective work, Pierre Bourdieu. In 2013, he officially changed his name to Édouard Louis. In 2011, he was admitted to two of the most prestigious institutions of higher learning in France, the École Normale Supérieure and to the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences in Paris. He is the first in his family to attend university. The poverty, racism, alcoholism and his homosexuality which he dealt with in his family during his childhood would become the subject of his literary work. His mother found occasional work bathing the elderly. Louis grew up in a poor family supported by government welfare: his father was a factory worker for a decade until 'One day at work, a storage container fell on him and crushed his back, leaving him bedridden, on morphine for the pain' and unable to work. We present Eline Arbo's peerless production of Weg met Eddy Bellegueule (The end of Eddy) by Toneelschuur Productions and Hans Kesting's solo Wie heeft mijn vader vermoord (Who killed my father).Édouard Louis, born Eddy Bellegueule was born and raised in the town of Hallencourt in northern France, which is the setting of his first novel, the autobiographical En finir avec Eddy Bellegueule (2014 published in English in 2018 as The End of Eddy). Registrations of livestreams on the big screen in one of ITA's auditoriums. The evening will end with the screening of a film by Milo Rau, chosen by Édouard Louis.Īfter the success of the livestreams on ITALive, we are expanding the palette with ITA on screen. The lecture will be followed by a conversation between Louis and Rau on stage. With a performative reading, Louis and Rau present the theatre text The Interrogation which they wrote together in the spring of 2021 (commissioned by Kunstenfestivaldesarts, IIPM & NTGENT). He can also be seen in a special collaborative piece with Milo Rau (Brandhaarden 2019). His passionate, engaging work is both necessary and urgent.' -|- Édouard Louis is also the central guest in a special edition of Sign of the Times in collaboration with de Balie. Édouard Louis doesn't want to describe the world, he wants to change it. As a young gay man who grew up in the forgotten working class of the impoverished industrial North of France, he's intimately familiar with what poverty and exclusion mean. His work has touched a nerve around the world. Ivo van Hove: 'Édouard Louis is not only the premier French writer of a new generation, he is also a global phenomenon. This performance can be seen for the first time in ITA during Brandhaarden. Earlier this year, van Hove made Battles and Metamorphoses of a woman with Marieke Heebink and Majd Mardo. Louis gave Ivo van Hove the opportunity at an early stage to read his most recent work about his mother. Édouard Louis has been involved in the curation of the festival from the beginning and chose Valdens Historie as one of his favourite adaptations. We also show the Norwegian adaptation of this play, by Det Norske Teatret, directed by Kjersti Horn. From the same director we are showing Im Herzen der Gewalt (History of Violence) by the renowned German company Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz in Berlin. In the opening performance Qui a tué mon père (Who killed my father?), Édouard Louis plays himself, directed by Thomas Ostermeier.

Edouard louis