Mefisto

A devilish dilemma of a wartime artist.

Berlin, early 1930s: in a bustling city full of show, theatre and art, fascism rears its head. The ambitious actor Hendrik Höfgen is offered the chance to become a theatre director here by the new regime. This puts him in a diabolical dilemma: will he choose the fast track to success or will he stay loyal to his leftist friends?

Mephisto is based on Klaus Mann's book of the same name, which he wrote four years before World War II. Israeli writer Maya Arad Yasur, also currently a wartime artist, made the stage adaptation with Sander Plukaard as Hendrik Höfgen. Yasur's work has been shown in many countries, this is the first time a play of hers has been shown in the Netherlands.

When is resistance a necessity?

Mefisto is about the question of when 'just doing your job' turns into collaboration. Even now, we live in a time when democracy and acquired rights are increasingly under pressure. Director Belle van Heerikhuizen: "Whether you're an artist or a civil servant, a student or an entrepreneur - somewhere the point comes when your conscience plays up. Then you have to choose: do I go along with the system and reap the benefits? Or do I rebel, even if I have to pay a price for it?"