RSC Casts Brecht Political Satire
The Royal Shakespeare Company has finalized the cast for its new staging of Bertolt Brecht's "The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui." Mark Gatiss leads the production, with support from Mawaan Rizwa and Janie Dee in this "gangster spectacle" directed by Seán Linnen. The show promises a bold, satirical take on political power with RSC's signature production values.
Bertolt Brecht wrote "The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui" in just three weeks in 1941 while in exile in Finland, awaiting a visa to the United States. The play serves as a sharp, satirical allegory, transposing the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party onto the criminal underworld of 1930s Chicago, with the titular mobster, Arturo Ui, attempting to control the cauliflower racket. This production marks the first time the Royal Shakespeare Company has ever staged the play. It is also a debut for both its lead actor, Mark Gatiss, and its director, Seán Linnen. Linnen has described the play as "a howl from history" and aims to present it not as a historical artifact but as "a living, breathing provocation to the world we are living in." Mark Gatiss, a two-time Olivier Award winner, is no stranger to dark and absurd humor, being a co-creator and member of the acclaimed comedy troupe "The League of Gentlemen." His extensive career includes co-creating and starring in the hit series "Sherlock" and writing for "Doctor Who." Playing the violent gang member Giri is BAFTA-winner Mawaan Rizwan, also making his RSC debut. Rizwan, who trained in physical comedy and clowning at the prestigious École Philippe Gaulier, is known for a surreal and joyful comedic style, showcased in his BAFTA-winning BBC series, "Juice." The cast also features two-time Olivier Award winner Janie Dee as Betty Dullfeet. Dee is a highly versatile and award-winning stage actress who has also been a vocal political activist, having organized a London concert against the Iraq war in 2003. The production will feature a new version of the script by Stephen Sharkey and a "darkly seductive" score composed by Brian Molko and Stefan Olsdal of the band Placebo. Brecht's original stage directions often called for the use of signs or projections to clarify the parallels between the play's events and the historical rise of the Nazi party.
