The Berliner Ensemble is in town to perform Bertolt Brecht's play, The Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui as part of the ongoing German Festival in India. The play will be performed in Mumbai on January 19, 2001. The Berliner Ensemble, one of the most famous theatrical ensembles in the world, was founded by the renowned German playwright, Bertolt Brecht, and his wife, Helene Weigel in 1949. In the middle of the last century, Brecht created a whole new genre called epic theatre which represented a clean break with the established dramatic styles of the time.

Though Heiner Muller, who was the director of the play when it won awards in Germany in 1995 is no more, he is still given credit for directorship. The play's assistant director, Stephan Suschke, is one of Germany's most prolific theatre personalities. Suschke learned his profession under the guidance of one of the most controversial dramatists in the former German Democratic Republic : Heiner Muller. The play's lead, Martin Wuttke was voted 'Actor of the Year' by Germany's drama critics in 1995 for his outstanding performance as Arturo Ui, whose character is modelled after the historical figure of Adolf Hitler.

The play is a political satire about the making of a fascist as it re-tells the story of Hitler and the Nazi era. In exile in the United States, Brecht turned to the story of Al Capone and the American gangster wars in order to portray, in the style of episodic farce, the rise of Hitler and his clique. It is political theatre at its very best and most powerful. Over the past few years, this production has known worldwide success in South America and the USA and is still running to packed houses in Berlin.

According to Suschke who was present during the lecture sessions on the Berliner Ensemble : A Historical Perspective, " When I go back to my old days with Heiner Muller, and my working with him on various projects, I consider myself one of the fortunate ones who got the opportunity to work with him. Today when I look at the play, 'The Resistable Rise ...', I think it can be rated as one of the finest works of German theatre till date."

The Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui will be performed at Jamshed Bhabha Theater, NCPA, on January 19 and 20 at 7.00pm.

By : Sharmistha Chakraborty