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The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui

by Bertolt Brecht

Translated by Ralph Manheim

Directed by David Farr

Created by and starring Lucian Msamati

Lyric Hammersmith

14 Febr – 15 Mar 08

ary Couzen

A review by Tim Jeeves for EXTRA! EXTRA!

Originally written by Brecht to illustrate the rise of Hitler to American audiences, this production has updated the original story to a more modern context by shifting the action from thirties’ Chicago to contemporary (though non-country specific) Africa.
A fast-paced performance punctuated with moments of genuine comedy, The Resistible Rise provides a perceptive exploration of how the clash of greed and purity is heavily weighted towards the former.
The action begins with the members of the struggling Cauliflower Trust concocting methods to get money out of the council to support their industry, eventually formulating a plan to get the impeccably honest Dogsborough to buy into their consortium. In this way they hope to commandeer the influence he has on the council and trick him into helping them.

All goes to plan until the local gangster Arturo Ui hears of the misdemeanour. When an investigation into the affair is launched, Ui puts himself forward as the only person in a position to save Dogsborough, and his involvement in the Cauliflower Trust and its descent into criminal protectionism and violence is assured.

The early scenes portray Ui as an imposing and threatening presence – when appearing with key members of his posse his silent presence threatens and frustrates those who encounter them. From scene 4 when he first speaks however, his character, whilst astute, is revealed to be insecure, anxious and at times clownish in its need for approval.

To reveal the human behind such figures of terror was one of Lucian Msamati’s stated intentions in his characterisation of the role, and with his skilled, versatile and well-controlled portrayal he goes a long way towards succeeding. At times the comedy veers towards being too dominant, but this, at least, does keep the play moving and stops what is a very text-heavy performance becoming too ponderous.

There is never any hint that the play is outmoded; the set, sound and costume design evoke modern Africa (particularly the dictatorship states of the last fifteen years) nicely, and whilst no specific reference to the current situation in Zimbabwe or anywhere else is made, it is not hard to make such a leap.

But the message received is of a broader portrait of humanity than even that. My cycle ride home afterwards was melancholic; as I passed through central London I was given to an impression that those willing to put their personal safety at risk in order to speak out against regimes of fear and terror are indeed, as demonstrated by the play, in too short supply in the world.

A position I don’t necessarily agree with now, though such moroseness is perhaps an inevitable aftertaste to a play with such a bleak ending.
But go beyond such a morbid perspective and I am sure it is possible to see the play and be inspired to act in a manner that the play’s events beg for: to light candles rather than taking the easy path of simply cursing the darkness.

Tickets from £9

Box Office: 08700 500 511

http://www.lyric.co.uk/

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