Timely reminder of how vital the voice of dissent is
MEPHISTO. Directed by Christopher Weare, with Kai Brummer, David Viviers, Sophie Kirsch, Cameron Robertson, Amelie Vernede, Skye Russell, Jazzara Jaslyn, Nathan Lynn, Jessica McCarthy, Dylan Owen, Brian Notcutt, Matthew Roberts, Francesca Michel, Shonisani Masutha, Nicole Fortuin, Larica Shnell, Anzio September, Zeno Jacobs, Sive Gubangxa, Luke Ellenbogen and Barry Platen. At The Arena Theatre until Friday. TRACEY SAUNDERS reviews.
THE STAGING of Mephisto in the month preceding the general elections is apt and the importance of theatre in political life is meticulously examined in this dense narrative.
The origins of the script are as interesting as the play and the life of the playwright Mnouchkine would itself make a fascinating drama. She founded the Théâtre du Soleil in Paris in 1964 based on a collective model of creating work.
This adaptation of Klaus Mann’s novel in 1979 was the first text based play presented by the company and like the original novel was not without controversy.
Written in 1936 in Amsterdam where he lived in exile after fleeing persecution in Germany, the novel was a thinly veiled critique of the life of Gustaf Gründgens, one of Germany’s most famous actors of the 20th century whose close ties to the Nazi party earned him the derision of many of his peers.
The publisher was successfully sued by the actor’s adopted son Peter Gorski in 1968 and publication of the book was prohibited.
The opening scene of the play shows the dilemma of an author, Sebastian Brückner (Kai Brummer), whose novel has been refused by the publisher. The story of the fictitious author and actor, Brückner and Höfgen respectively, mirror the lives of Mann and Gründgens and the choices made by both men reflect the alternate paths taken by German artists and intellectuals during the rise of the Third Reich.
The Faustian pact between Hitler and the German people is shown in microcosm as Höfgen (David Viviers) is seduced by the power offered by his affiliation to the Nazi regime.
One of Gründgens’s most famous roles was that of Mephisto in Goethe’s Faust, and the charm of the devil is displayed as he rises from the revolutionary cabaret to the Berlin Opera House. At a time when many actors were struggling to maintain a living, the productions staged by Otto Ulrich (Cameron Robertson) at The Pepper Mill Theatre are the source of much consternation to those members of the company who are closely allied to the National Socialist Party.
In the play Brückner’s/Mann’s struggle with Höfgen is indicative of the broader struggles experienced by artists of that particular generation. Many actors fled Germany, and some, such as Mann, chose the extreme option of suicide as a form of protest.
The script is complex and there is a multiplicity of connections to navigate. Relationships happen in real time and in vignettes performed from productions staged by the revolutionary cabaret.
The cast is large and there are some fine individual performances. Shonisani Masutha as the actor’s mistress, Juliette, is captivating and Jessica McCarthy and Jazzara Jaslyn give beguiling performances. Sophie Kirsch is a strong Carola Martin and bears the antiSemitic banter included in the dialogue with a chilling fortitude.
The addition of Brian Notcutt and Matthew Roberts and the rare appearance of Luke Ellenbogen on the stage are an innovative addition to the student cast. The transformation of the Arena is particularly interesting.
The installation of an upper level leads to some lighting challenges, but adds an additional perspective to the staging. The use of roaming spotlights in which the audience are very much under scrutiny provides for some introspection on the vantage point of an audience and blurs the line between participation and mere observation.
Leigh Bishop has once again triumphed with a wardrobe which exemplifies the mood of the 1930s. Her styling and attention to detail are impeccable and make this production a visual delight.
Weare in his director’s note references Erika Munk who wrote in Theater and Politics: “They – we – have forgotten what used to be easily understood: when an artist col- laborates with power, what happens isn’t just selling out or buying in but something more consequential than ordinary careerism; it’s never a simple refusal to take sides. When artists stop dissenting they end up with a society against whose repression they are defenceless.”
The history of protest theatre in South Africa is a rich one and recent discussion has been a critique of the absence of such in the current political dispensation. Power is not wielded by the state exclusively and the tyranny of institutions and market provide dilemmas of conscience to those in the creative sector. Mephisto provides a revelation of the slippery slope down which compromise leads and is a cautionary tale to be heeded.
The arts and role of writers, performers and directors in a vibrant democracy is a vital one and this play is a timely reminder of just how vital the voice of dissent is.
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