Facts: “Mephisto”
“Mefisto” premieres February 16 at Dramaten in Stockholm.
Klaus Mann was the son of the writer Thomas Mann. He left Germany when the Nazis took over in 1933. “Mefisto” was published in 1936 and it has been speculated that the main character is based on Klaus Mann’s former friend, the actor Gustaf Gründgens. He was Hermann Göring’s favorite and also director of the Preussisches Staatstheater in Berlin.
Natalie Ringler has been praised for productions such as “Our Class” and “Iraqi Christ” at Teater Galeasen. In 2021, she was awarded Svenska Dagbladet’s Thalia prize.
At the revolutionary theater Stormfågeln, arms dealers and chiefs of general staff are parodied. Klaus Mann’s “Mefisto” was published in 1936 and revolves around a group of actors, with Hendrik Höfgen at the center. When the play is now performed at Dramaten, Danilo Bejarano portrays the actor who desperately longs for his big breakthrough and is a convinced opponent of the National Socialists.
But just as Höfgen’s career begins to take off, Hitler takes power.
— A line of thought that stuck with me was: what would I have done? says director Natalie Ringler.
It is the small compromises in a chaotic and threatening time that interest her. When others quit in protest, Hendrik Höfgen clings to his employment at the theater and exclaims “What can I do, I just want to play theatre”. Suddenly he finds himself on the side of the Nazis.
Collective storytelling
On the stage before one of the final performances, Natalie Ringler is congratulated by her colleagues: her set “Stranded” at the Royal Opera House has been selected for the performing arts biennial. In the past, she has had great success with plays such as “Iraqi Christ” at Teater Galeasen. And when “Mefisto” kicks off on a giant revolving stage, it’s again with Ringler’s typical flurry of parallel events.
“I think it’s because I’m very interested in the ensemble, it’s incredibly exciting with the collective storytelling,” she says.
Natalie Ringler recalls that the changes in Nazi Germany first happened in small increments. Then it only took six weeks from the time Hitler became chancellor until democracy was shot down.
— For a long time the situation was more “normal”. It has been exciting here, building the normal. Secondly, we know so much about, she says.
On stage, both healing Nazis and Adolf Hitler can be seen as a cardboard figure. But Natalie Ringler sought a personal entry into the historical events, and found it in the group’s love of the theater. What happens in a workplace when you have such different political positions but have to work together, she wonders.
— And what happens in a situation when it is brought to a head?
The actor Hendrik Höfgen, played by Danilo Bejarano, wants to continue acting in the theater – even in Nazi Germany. Press image. Scary parallels
The play’s questions are highly topical. Natalie Ringler got the idea for the set when Russia entered Ukraine. She thinks it’s easy to say of Hendrik that “he should have left”, but draws a parallel to Russians who are being urged to protest against Putin. She knows from her own experience that those who leave their country can also lose their identity: her Polish parents’ friends were artists who instead had to start driving taxis when they came to Sweden. At the same time, it is twofold, she points out.
— Because on the other hand: what is it to sell one’s soul to the devil? There is also something very enticing about saying “what do you want from me?”. The devil might just be that voice that says “it’s not your responsibility”.
Natalie Ringler sees a frightening number of parallels between 1930s Germany and now. The plot takes place during a time of economic collapse with sky-high inflation. As then, she thinks we divide ourselves more and more into “us” and “them”.
— And we believe, as then, that the answer lies in strength and exalts it, instead of seeing strength in vulnerability or complexity. We want black and white answers, simple truths and strong leaders.
Culture and nationalism
The play also examines the role of culture in nationalist times. Natalie Ringler was in Poland when the national conservative party PIS took power and sees similarities in Sweden’s current debate. For example, around which culture should be seen. When she returned to Poland, the theater’s repertoire was suddenly dominated by patriotic works.
She believes that it is in the small shifts that the changes take place.
“There won’t be people with k-pist and forcing us to play Selma Lagerlöf,” says Natalie Ringler, who wonders what the small choices are and when we make them.
The play will also be particularly relevant because there is a party with a Nazi past in Sweden’s parliament, Ringler points out and warns: “Nazis are Nazis, this is how it ends”. At the same time, she completely agrees with a line in the play:
— The real problem is the betrayal of the Social Democrats, who have not provided a better alternative. So the responsibility is on our side.
“I think the role of culture above all is to exist. I am against giving culture a task, it should exist in its own right. But in the best of worlds we exist in the same time as everyone else and hopefully manage to illuminate our time by being in it. And we will do that in a thousand different ways because we are a thousand different expressions and persons.”