Mephisto

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

Mefisto is about the question 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 along the way your conscience comes into play. Then you have to choose: do I go along with the system and reap the benefits? Or do I resist, even if I have to pay a price?"

Mefisto 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, is making the stage adaptation. Her work has been shown in many countries; this is the first time one of her plays has been shown in the Netherlands.

Please note: this performance is at Flint