Mark Gatiss is to star in a new Royal Shakespeare Company production of Bertolt Brecht's 1941 satire The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, with music by alt-rock band Placebo. The play, a parable about Hitler's rise to power, is being staged amid what the cast describe as uncanny parallels to current political rhetoric in Britain and the United States.
Gatiss, best known for playing Mycroft Holmes in Sherlock, said the play's warnings from history have become 'the bloody news'. He noted that phrases used by Hitler, such as describing Germany as 'diseased', are now echoed by figures like former Conservative MP Nadhim Zahawi and Elon Musk. 'It's the same rhetoric,' Gatiss said. 'You just give it 80 years.'
The production, directed by Seán Linnen, features a new translation by Stephen Sharkey. Placebo's Brian Molko and Stefan Olsdal have created a score that reflects the play's brutality, with Molko describing the process as 'like being in a dark room and feeling your way around'. The band, who are preparing for a 30th-anniversary tour, said the play's political message aligns with their own views.
Gatiss, who first saw the play at Darlington Civic Theatre as a teenager, said the impact 'changed my life'. He has now put a moratorium on playing characters similar to Mycroft Holmes, but said the role of Arturo Ui was one he had thought about since he was 15. The RSC moved quickly to stage the production within a year, with Gatiss noting the urgency: 'We should be doing it tomorrow, shouldn't we?'
