Frank Castorf Stages Klaus Mann's "Mephisto" at Berliner Ensemble in Six-Hour Production
At the Berliner Ensemble in Berlin, Frank Castorf presented a six-hour rendition of Klaus Mann's "Mephisto," starring the highly acclaimed Jens Harzer. Maxi Leinkauf, writing in the Freitag newsletter, found the extensive duration engaging. The newsletter also covers student protests in France, marked by violence and turmoil, with philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy commenting that these demonstrations are distinct from those of May 1968. Marlen Hobrack recounts an incident involving a comic shop owner who was assaulted amid the chaos, alongside reports of significant police brutality. Other subjects include Julia Ebener's exploration of extremist fitness clubs, AfD politician Ulrich Siegmund's coalition negotiations in Saxony-Anhalt, and Don-Pablo Mulemba's podcast titled "Springerstiefel."
Key facts
- Frank Castorf directed a six-hour adaptation of Klaus Mann's "Mephisto" at the Berliner Ensemble in Berlin
- Jens Harzer performs in the production and is described as for many the best actor of his time
- The East German folk band Bayon set Wolfgang Borchert's poem "Versuch es" to music
- Bernard-Henri Lévy said French lycéens have become "mere extras" and compared the unrest unfavorably with May 1968
- A Paris comic shop owner was kicked in the back and fell into the broken glass of his shop while masked onlookers cheered
- Fabien Bilheran, a former police officer deployed during the Yellow Vests protests, gave an interview about police violence
- Saxony-Anhalt elects its minister president in mid-December, with the AfD three votes short of an absolute majority
- Don-Pablo Mulemba and Hendrik Bolz produce the podcast "Springerstiefel," whose second season examines why young eastern German men vote AfD
Entities
Artists
- Frank Castorf
- Klaus Mann
- Jens Harzer
- Wolfgang Borchert
- Bernard-Henri Lévy
- Marlen Hobrack
- Romy Straßenburg
- Fabien Bilheran
- Julia Ebener
- Ulrich Siegmund
- Florence Pugh
- Stephen King
- Barbara Schweizerhof
- Don-Pablo Mulemba
- Hendrik Bolz
- Maxi Leinkauf
Institutions
- Berliner Ensemble
- Bayon
- AfD
- Freitag
- 4. Generation Ost
Locations
- Berlin
- Germany
- Paris
- France
- Saxony-Anhalt
- Eberswalde