​MEPHISTO – ON TROUVERA D’AUTRES IDOLES

ENGLISH TRADUCTION 

 

Mephisto was originally the graduation production (School of La Manufacture – Directing Department) of director Jérémie Lebreton. As part of the Festival Départ d’Incendies, he is offering a reworking of this piece, with the help of author Joseph Olivennes. While the initial version focused on the journey of the character Hendrik Hofgen (Cyprien Colombo) – from Klaus Mann's novel – the aim of this new version is to emphasize the historical and collective dimension of the story. Placing the troupe at the heart of the project aligns perfectly with the spirit of this festival, set in the mythical woods of La Cartoucherie.

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The play is based on reality: the rise of Nazism in 1920s-30s Germany, on historical figures such as Klaus Mann (Angèle Arnaud) and Erika Mann (Jeanne Guittet), and on the ideologies drawn from the works of these authors. It’s an ambitious program, as Nicoletta Hoppe (Alba Porte) – a fictional character inspired by contemporaries of the Mann family – immediately declares: "We have 400 pages, dense, very dense, to summarize! A chaotic story, plus Klaus’s two autobiographies, theoretical writings, Erika’s books, correspondence with Stefan Zweig, and all the clues hidden in history! Hercules' twelve labors are nothing compared to this!"

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Klaus Mann's 400-page novel Mephisto, published in 1936, is a critique of the author's contemporaries, particularly intellectuals and artists, whom he felt were not standing up strongly enough against the fascist regime. Les Barbares' adaptation of Mephisto puts pressure on a group of friends – both historical and fictional characters – whose principles are challenged by a reality that overwhelms them. Initially, everything seems ideal: Hendrik Hofgen, an ambitious actor from Dresden, falls in love with and marries Erika Mann, an author and the sister of the famous Klaus Mann. Accompanied by Nicoletta Hoppe, this quartet of artists wants to revolutionize the world of theater.

Arriving at the "right place" at the "right time," Hendrik is caught in a rapid career ascent, coinciding with the rise of Nazism. He strikes deals with figures of the regime and begins a long intoxication with power. This idea of a dizzying ascent is beautifully staged, with Théo Kailer embodying three different power figures who appear increasingly elevated on the stage. First, at ground level, Hendrik Hofgen meets Marder, a conservative writer who resists new creative winds. Then comes Max Reinhardt, the director of the Berlin theater, suspended 4 meters above the ground, behind the red theater curtain, with only his hands and face visible. Finally, Göring, a Nazi party member, hangs from the ceiling amidst a cloud of smoke.

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As Hendrik Hofgen's idols rise higher, he sinks into an abyss of loneliness, accompanied only by his troubled conscience, embodied by actor and drummer Max Millet. 

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A love letter to the theater.

The registers joyfully blend, shifting from farce to drama, from masks to slam. The acting and tone are always intense and powerfully embodied.

The play is a lavish and indulgent love letter to the theater. While the idea of a play about theater performed on stage might seem daunting, the enthusiasm and commitment of the actors and the director make it a joyous and lively spectacle.

 

In this vibrant moment of life, the actors don't hesitate to break the fourth wall at several points, interacting with the audience, offering them beers, and asking: "Was it good? Did you like it?" The performance joyfully shifts between farce and drama, mask work and slam poetry. The acting and tone are always fully committed and powerfully embodied, from Klaus Mann's monologue, teetering between singing and screaming as Hitler comes to power – masterfully delivered by Angèle Arnaud – to the Colombian spark and frank humor of Alba Porte's character. Hendrik Hofgen (Cyprien Colombo) particularly embodies this blend of vibrant spectacle. In the scene of his ascent, accompanied by Max Millet's frenetic drumming, we see him dance like a Russian peasant, sing opera, and act – doing everything to please us, right to the point of exhaustion.

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This "all or nothing" approach extends to the technical elements. The staging is woven together through strong imagery, from the semi-darkness of the stage to the poetic lighting designed by Henri Coueignoux.

 

We move from a biting lobster dinner – a dark nod to the Cène – to a post-show dressing room scene with a cabaret atmosphere reminiscent of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. This transformation is made possible by the highly realistic scenography of Christian Bovey. The set is a theater space littered with seemingly casual fly cases, props, and microphones. The actors sometimes change costumes in full view, creating a moment of fragility and vulnerability as we watch them before they take on another role and another costume designed by Héloise Bouchot. We are immersed in this theatrical world where a touch of reality sometimes flickers through. The experience is also auditory, as Félix Bergeron's captivating musical composition accompanies the play almost from beginning to end.

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We eventually feel fragments of theater in our own bodies. For example, at his wedding to Erika Mann, Hendrik Hofgen recites from Cyrano de Bergerac: “I so mistook your hair for light, That like those who stare at the sun too long, I now see red circles on everything; When I leave the brightness with which you flood me, I see blonde spots wherever my dazzled gaze lands!” These blonde spots we end up seeing at the play’s conclusion, when a half-crazed Hendrik crawls toward a shaft of light shrouded in smoke. Our eyes as spectators perceive these blonde spots, leading us to a synesthetic echo of the play’s opening.

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Thus, we experience, as if struck by an aesthetic cymbal crash, all the different trades that sustain the theater and serve the work.

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Mephisto is a generous production, with a demanding and powerful aesthetic. A beautiful Dionysian whirlwind. 

Pauline Crépin 

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ORIGINAL ARTICLES : https://zone-critique.com/critiques/mephisto-on-trouvera-dautres-idoles/

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