The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui by Bertolt Brecht is a recast of the historical events leading to the rise of Adolf Hitler in the guise of depression-era Chicago. The playwright Brecht vividly mirrors the history through the story of the gangster Arturo Ui in a satirical way, he used Chicago to represent Germany and Cicero to present Austria, illustrating the expansion of the Third Reich into neighboring countries during WWII. His use of symbolism demonstrates how the rise of Hitler and his party could have been avoided. Before going to the actual play, I was curious of how it would be visually performed in presenting to such a dramatic historical event. It turned out the play was among one of the most memorable ones that I have seen.

The first feature that distinguishes the play experience from others is the theater, which is installed inside a small coffee shop. The theater is quite small and the props of stage is also rather simple compared to those I have been to in the past, which established an intimate and interactive connection between the actors and the audiences, as I could clearly see the change of facial and eye expressions in the actors’ eyes. The audiences were seated along three sides of the room, and the last side serves as a backstage for the actors. A fence separates the main stage from the backstage, which gives the play an alternative taste by enhancing the layering of the stage and offering the audiences another view to look at.

With such simple setting, the focus of audiences was completely drawn onto the actor’s performance as well as the plot of the play itself. The phenomenal performance of the actors surly did not disappoint us. Each actor wholeheartedly devoted to their character and vividly demonstrated to us how Ui gained the total control of cauliflower enterprise step by step. The most impressive scene in my mind was when Arturo’s closest henchman Roma was killed because he suspected another two henchmen Giri and Girova of plotting against Arturo. To end the internal conflict, Arturo ended his life. The scene revealed the central theme that penetrates the whole play and promotes its progression — betrayal. The betrayal committed by all of the characters throughout the play all stem from the same motive of upward social mobility, which was exploited by Ui to achieve his final rise. Nevertheless, what is ironic is that betrayal also cements as a part of Ui’s reputation, which Roma’s ghost believes will prove to be his inevitable downfall.

The play left me with an unforgettable memory no matter from its setting, its symbolizing plot or the interactive atmosphere inside the theater, it convinced me that a play can be just as impressive with minimal props and unadorned costumes, what really intrigues the audiences are the enthusiastic performance of the actors and the powerful story being conveyed.