The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui

The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui

by Bertolt Brecht

Two women conquer a city and – maybe - the world!

The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui by Bertolt Brecht was written in Finland in 1941 over a period of three weeks while the author and his family hoped and waited for their US-visas to escape the fast-approaching armies of Nazi-Germany. Intended for American audiences, it did not get a theatrical release there and was first produced in 1958 in Germany.

A comedy of horrors, a parable, a thriller full of surprising turns, a love story, a grandiose play on words. We meet bankers and gangsters, crooks big and small, greed and crime in a tight embrace. We observe countless murders without any consequences for the killers. We see how economic interests translate into criminal actions and how fake news transforms into political dogma. Remind you of anything? Please notice the “resistible” in the title!


Co-Production Workshop between Canadian Stage and the BMO Lab in Creative Research in the Arts, Performance, Emerging Technologies and Artificial Intelligence at the Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies, University of Toronto

This workshop production is generously supported by Trina McQueen, O.C.

Currently Playing at Canadian Stage

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