Today I'm going to write to you about Arturo Oui, as if he were a friend of mine. Yes, I can call him my friend, because I was surprised by this "masterpiece". First of all, he's back for his second year on stage and it may be one of the few plays that are still sold out. The satire, hidden political messages and dark humor are unparalleled. Playwright, director and poet Bertolt Brecht, in writing this play, described it as a "historical farce" that needed to be shown to the audience.
Allegories are everything. The Chicago of the Wall Street Crash and the Nazi regime of World War II are historical events that are linked. The play is therefore set in a gangster interwar setting in distant America. It satirizes the past with the present. And perhaps hope for a better future? And I write maybe, because even he doesn't know what might happen later.
What is striking is that Arturo Ui, despite being the "bad guy" in the case, is at the same time being liked by public opinion. Could it be because he is exploiting fear, manipulation and corruption to seize power? Obviously the people won't notice anything since they are "subservient" and don't have their own personal opinion.
So does this play ultimately function as a prologue to bad developments? Is it trying to warn the public that they should finally open their eyes? Authoritarianism and manipulation will always be present elements, but never overt. I thank my friend, then. Arturo Uy. Because he helped me not only to open my eyes to reality, but I was able to understand the political background of yesterday, today and tomorrow.